Boop our inbox! 🐾 🎥 This episode is also available in video format on Spotify. ****A note about this episode: This conversation reflects one guardian’s individual experience with behavioral euthanasia and the difficult, deeply personal decisions surrounding it. It is not intended as guidance for other cases.**** In this deeply personal episode of Shy Dog Diaries, I sit down with dog trainer Sarah Endres of Journey Dog Training New Zealand to talk about Charlie—the deeply sensitive dog who...
Aug 24
1 hr 13 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 🎥 This episode is also available in video format on Spotify. What happens when loving dogs also comes with guilt, grief, worry, and the constant feeling that you should be doing more? In this episode of Shy Dog Diaries, I sit down with Jill Gray, a licensed marriage and family therapist, certified thanatologist, and grief counselor—and someone who has been an important part of my own journey. Jill supported me through the loss of my dogs Dublin and Wicklow, who died ju...
Aug 12
41 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 🎥 This episode is also available in video format on Spotify. What happens when the puppy you carefully prepared for enters the world already afraid? In this episode, I’m joined by Melissa, guardian of Red, a Goldendoodle who showed intense sensitivity and fear almost immediately after coming home. Melissa had done everything she thought she was supposed to do: researched breeders, arranged professional training and prepared for thoughtful socialization. Still, Red stru...
Jul 19
1 hr 11 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 🎥 This episode is also available in video format on Spotify. When people meet a fearful dog, it's easy to focus on what they can't do. But what if we're asking the wrong questions? In this episode of Shy Dog Diaries, I sit down with certified dog behavior consultant Laurie Lawless, founder of Shelter Behavior Integrations, to talk about what really happens inside shelters and why understanding behavior is the key to helping more dogs find lasting homes. Laurie shares t...
Jul 6
1 hr 18 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 🎥 This episode is also available in video format on Spotify. When I first introduced nose work to my anxious dog, Nessie, I thought it would simply be a fun enrichment activity. What I didn't realize was that it would become one of the most powerful confidence-building tools in our journey together. In this episode of Shy Dog Diaries, I sit down with Nancy Reyes, founder of For Your K9 and certified nose work instructor, to explore how scent work can help fearful, anxi...
Jun 7
1 hr 1 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 🎥 This episode is also available in video format on Spotify if you want to see some of Nessie’s recent progress. What if the biggest breakthrough with your sensitive dog isn’t fixing them—but finally understanding them? In this episode of Shy Dog Diaries, I’m sharing a deeply personal reflection on what changed when I stopped trying to turn Nessie into the dog I imagined… and started loving the dog right in front of me. I walk through some recent wins—from a surprisingly smo...
Apr 5
18 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kelly Lee, founder of Dogkind Training, to talk about what it truly means to support fearful, anxious, and traumatized dogs. Dr. Lee holds degrees in Zoology, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and she’s an honors graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers (CTC). But what makes this conversation so powerful isn’t just her credentials — it’s her lived experience with her own deeply fearful dog, Pancake. We tal...
Feb 18
1 hr 9 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 In this episode, I’m joined by certified dog trainer and behavior consultant Genie Tuttle of Dog Genie to talk about helping shy and anxious dogs build confidence. Together, we revisit Nessie’s early training days and explore how choice and agency play a powerful role in behavior work. We also talk about how nose work and scent-based enrichment can transform fear into curiosity, giving sensitive dogs a way to engage with the world on their own terms. This is a warm, hopeful ...
Jan 6
34 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 What if your dog isn’t “difficult” or “stubborn” — but anxious, overwhelmed, and trying their best? In this episode of Shy Dog Diaries, I sit down with board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Karen Sueda to talk about what’s really going on behind fear-based behaviors in dogs — and how we can truly help them thrive. Dr. Sueda explains what a veterinary behaviorist does, how anxiety can show up as fear, reactivity, or shutdown, and techniques for helping fearful dogs impro...
Jan 6
51 min
Boop our inbox! 🐾 In this very first episode, I introduce you to Shy Dog Diaries — a podcast about living with, training, and celebrating dogs who see the world a little differently. You’ll hear the story of my rescue dog Nessie, how she inspired this project, and what you can expect from future episodes: Real stories about anxious and sensitive dogsExpert interviews and lived experiencesTraining insights and positive reinforcement tipsFunny hacks and heartwarming momentsThis podcast is for a...
Jan 5
10 min