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PODCAST

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With Your Dog Beyond Dog Training and Behavior

Emily “Em” Breslin

Are you tired of dog training advice that gives you one more thing to try but still leaves you wondering what you"re missing? If you"ve followed the advice, learned everything you can, and still can"t figure out what actually makes sense for the dog in front of you, this podcast is for you. Named Sniffspot"s #1 Dog Training Podcast in 2026 and ranked in the top 3% of podcasts globally. This is the dog community for people who love their dogs deeply and want to understand them without feeling like

kids & family pets & animals

All Episodes

25:03

There's a Specific Age When Most Adopted Dogs Get...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/19

Most people think the hard part of adopting a pet ends when the paperwork is signed. But that's usually when the real work starts, and a lot of the struggles that come after could have been caught with the right conversation before you ever brought the animal home.In this episode, Em talks with Amy Castro from Pet Parent Hotline about what actually happens after adoption: why so many dogs get returned once they hit the "too much energy, not enough training" stage, why kids and pets need more thought

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06:53

Your Dog's Reactivity Didn't Just Cost You Walks. It...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/17

There's a version of reactive dog life people talk about: the walks that don't go well, the places you stop going. And then there's the version nobody talks about, the one where it starts costing you at work, your income, your ability to say yes to things you need to say yes to.In this episode, Em shares what it actually looked like when Fitz washed out of service dog training and her life was falling apart in other directions at the same time: a relationship she couldn't trust, doors left open

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06:13

You Know Exactly What to Do. Your Dog Just Didn't Get...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/14

You've watched the videos, read the posts, followed the steps exactly, and then it falls apart. Your dog can't focus, or gets it three times and forgets everything on the fourth, or shuts down completely. You start running through the checklist in your head. Is the treat not good enough? Did I move too fast? And underneath all of it, the question you don't say out loud: what if I'm the problem?In this episode, Em shares what she eventually figured out with Fitz: the method wasn't the issue, the

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13:37

A Pharmacy Killed This Dog, and the Law Won't Let Her...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/12

She survived a $20,000 heart surgery most vets had never even heard of. Four days later, a pharmacy mistake took her anyway.Krasi and her husband did everything right. They researched, they saved, they flew across the world for a surgery only available in three places. It worked. Daisy came home. Then a routine arrhythmia medication came back from the pharmacy with the wrong dose, ten times what it should have been, and there was no way to know just by looking at the bottle. By the time anyone

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05:27

Tiring Your Dog Out Might Be the One Thing Keeping...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/10

You've thrown the ball until your arm gave out, run more miles, extended the walks, done everything that's supposed to work. And your dog still can't settle, still paces, still follows you from room to room like something's about to happen. The exhausting part is that you're doing everything right on paper.In this episode, Em shares what she didn't understand for a long time with Fitz: that fetch and running spike adrenaline in a way that takes hours to come back down from, so instead of tiring him

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05:44

A Low Energy Day With Your Dog Still Counts as a Good...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/07

You have nothing left today, and your dog doesn't know that.They don't know about the exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix, or the kind of day where just being a person already cost everything. They just know you're there, and they still want the same thing they always want, the ball, the walk, the attention. And that's when the guilt shows up, the quiet math of did they get enough today, was that enough, is this enough, on a day you could barely get through yourself. But the answer isn't in doing

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07:13

Your Dog Is Fine, Your Guilt Didn't Get the Memo |...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/05

There's a version of leaving your dog you've gotten used to, the sounds, the routine, the timing you can predict without thinking.Then you travel somewhere new, and none of that applies anymore. New space, new sounds, a kennel in a corner you've never seen before, and suddenly you're spending the whole trip only half wherever you actually are. Checking the time. Rushing back early. Doing the math on how long you've been gone instead of looking at the view in front of you.You'll hear:Why knowing your

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07:32

They Say It's Just a Dog. They Have No Idea

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/08/03

Your dog knew how bad it really was before anyone else did.There are seasons when everything falls apart at once. In this deeply personal episode, Em shares what it was like surviving an abusive relationship during the pandemic, then getting hit with the Iowa derecho on top of it, and how Toby and Fitz became the one steady thing in a year when nothing else was.You'll hear:What it actually looks like when a dog's routine is the only reason you get out of bedWhy leaning on your dog during the hardest

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09:10

Your Dog Is the Only One in That Car Without a...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/31

Have you ever driven with your dog loose in the car and quietly wondered what would happen if you had to slam on the brakes?For years, Em thought her dogs were safe simply because they rode quietly in the back seat. It wasn't until she started traveling with Fitz, who struggled to settle on long car rides, that she realized comfort and safety aren't the same thing. In this episode, she shares how one road trip changed the way she thinks about dog travel, what she learned during her visit to the

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29:34

There's a Label Category Built to Hide What's...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/29

Have you ever looked at a shelf full of dog supplements and wondered which ones actually work?With so many powders, capsules, oils, and tinctures on the market, it's easy to assume that adding more means giving your dog better support. But what if the real question isn't which supplement to buy, but whether your dog's body can actually use it? Em sits down with canine wellness expert Angela Ardolino to talk about bioavailability, ingredient quality, and why two products that look almost identical on

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07:06

Some Decisions About Your Dog Never Really Leave You...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/27

Did your dog's reaction feel like it came out of nowhere?After a bite, a fight, or another frightening incident, it's easy to replay every moment and wonder what you missed. The guilt, the questions, and the belief that you should have seen it coming can stay with you for years. In this episode, I share the deeply personal story of my dog Izzy, the decision that changed my life, and the lesson that has shaped how I understand dog behavior ever since.In this episode, you'll learn:Why many dogs

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07:47

Your Dog Can Do the Thing Perfectly, Except When They...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/24

Have you ever watched your dog perform perfectly in one place, then completely fall apart somewhere else?If you have a reactive dog, you've probably felt the frustration of training that works one day and fails the next. But what if the problem isn't the training at all?In this episode, Em talks through what actually happens to a dog's ability to learn once they're pushed past what they can handle, why that changes everything they're capable of in the moment, and why so many behavior challenges seem

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17:32

A Safe Place for Your Dog Can Turn Dangerous in Under...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/22

A dog trainer left his dog in a sprinter van with the AC running while he taught a seminar nearby. Within minutes of the AC failing, the van hit 100 degrees. He only knew because his phone started buzzing.In this episode, Em talks with Kaile from Waggle about the mental load of leaving a dog behind, whether that's at home, in the car, or in an RV, and how real-time monitoring changes what "checking on your dog" actually looks like. They get into Kaile's own story fostering Maya, a death-row shelter

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06:26

The Story You've Built About Your Dog's Worst Days...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/20

Have you ever had one bad day with your dog and immediately wondered if you've ruined everything?If you live with a reactive dog, you know how easy it is to turn a difficult walk, a setback, or a frustrating behavior into a story about who your dog is—or what you're doing wrong. In this episode, we explore why those stories feel so convincing, how they shape your dog training decisions, and what may actually be happening beneath the surface.You'll hear a personal story about a behavior that seemed

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07:16

Pushing Your Dog's Progress Could Be Backfiring | Dog...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/17

What if the thing that feels like giving up on your dog is actually the thing they need most?If you're living with a reactive dog, anxious dog, or a dog who seems constantly overwhelmed, you've probably been told to keep pushing forward. More training. More exposure. More practice. More consistency.But what if progress isn't about doing more?In this episode of The Dog Who Asked for More, Em shares the reality of living with Fitz and Toby, the management strategies that became essential from day one,

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25:03

You Didn't Get the Wrong Dog. You Got Ready for the...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/15

Did you choose your dog based on your real life—or the life you hoped you would have?When most people start looking for a dog, they focus on breeds, photos, energy levels, and what life might look like once that dog comes home. But what happens when the reality doesn't match the dream? In this episode, I sit down with Julie Swan of the Honest Dog Breeder Podcast to talk about ethical breeding, rescue dogs, dog behavior, and the often-overlooked role that lifestyle fit plays in long-term

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06:15

Why Does Your Dog Reacting in Public Feels Like It...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/13

A bike comes around the corner and the dog reacts. Even knowing everything about triggers and thresholds, it still feels like the stranger watching just saw something true about you.This episode breaks down why a reactive dog's public meltdown gets turned into a verdict about the handler, why understanding the science behind reactivity doesn't make the shame disappear, and why separating the incident itself from what it supposedly proves about you is the actual shift that changes things.You'll

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07:08

The Grief Started Before Anything Was Actually Lost |...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/10

You don't notice the changes all at once.It's the extra medication with breakfast. The slower trip up the stairs. The way your dog sleeps a little more than they used to. The way your daily routine quietly shifts around their needs until one day you realize just how much has changed.In this episode, I'm talking about a kind of grief that doesn't get discussed very often: the grief that starts before the loss.The grief of loving a senior dog who is still here while becoming increasingly aware that

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19:25

Bad Breath, Itching, and a Dull Coat Aren't Three...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/08

Have you ever felt like you're constantly chasing a new symptom with your dog?Maybe it's bad breath. Maybe it's itching. Maybe it's digestive issues that improve for a while, then come right back. You've changed foods, tried supplements, spent hours researching, and you're still wondering what you're missing.In this episode, I sit down with Kendall, co-founder of Kingdom, to talk about why some of the most common health issues in dogs may not be separate problems at all. We get into the connection

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06:09

Your Dog Survived The Fireworks. Now They Need Time...

The Dog Who Asked for More: Understanding Life With... ·

2026/07/06

The noise has stopped. The holiday is over.But your dog is still jumpy, restless, reacting to things that normally wouldn't bother them, and you're starting to wonder if something is wrong.In this episode, Em explains what's actually happening inside your dog's body after a stressful event and why recovery often takes much longer than most dog parents expect.If you've been worried that your dog should be "over it" by now, this conversation will help you understand what normal recovery really looks

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