Podcasts · Kids & Family · Education

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

Emily “Em” Breslin | Dog Trainer & Canine Nutritionist

263 episodes · Explicit

Are you tired of dog training advice that gives you one more thing to try but still leaves you wondering what you're missing?

More about the show

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 there's always another problem they need to fix.

I'm Em. Former vet tech, dog trainer, and canine nutritionist. I went looking for a dog community that actually understood how complicated life with dogs can be and kept finding gatekeeping, judgment, and people who'd decided their way was the only way. So I built the space I couldn't find.

Listen, and you'll learn how to:

- Better understand the dog in front of you instead of chasing one-size-fits-all advice - Use what you already know and get curious about what you might be missing - Start trusting the decisions you make and adjust when your dog gives you new information - Look at the whole dog through training, behavior, nutrition, enrichment, health, and environment - Feel less alone in the grief, burnout, uncertainty, and messy parts of life with dogs

Solo episodes, guest conversations, and real stories covering dog training, dog behavior, dog reactivity, dog nutrition, dog enrichment, dog health, dog body language, pet loss, senior dogs, and the parts of life with dogs no one really prepares you for.

New here? Start with "What Your Reactive Dog Actually Needs Isn't What You've Been Told" (released Jan 12, 2026).

🎥 Full video episodes available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/@thedogwhoaskedformore

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. How Trying to Help Your Dogs Get Along Could Make Their Conflict Worse | Dog Behavior

    · 4:53 · Episode 262 · Explicit

    You know the plan isn't working. Everyone is more stressed, you're constantly managing the fallout, and yet changing course somehow feels harder than trying one more time. When consistency gets treated like the answer…

  2. Why Your Dog's Training Seems to Fall Apart After Taking a Break | Dog Training

    · 4:33 · Episode 261 · Explicit

    Your dog knew how to do this. They've done it dozens of times. So why does one hesitant session suddenly make it feel like all your dog training progress has disappeared? When something changes, even something small,…

  3. How Getting a Second Puppy Could Make Your First Puppy's Problems Worse | Puppy Training

    · 5:26 · Episode 260 · Explicit

    One puppy already has you exhausted. Getting them a playmate can sound like the perfect way to take some of that energy off your plate. But bringing home a second puppy doesn't automatically make raising the first one…

  4. Why “Just Bring Your Dog” Isn't as Simple as People Think | Life With Dogs

    · 5:12 · Episode 259 · Explicit

    “Just bring him. He’ll be fine.” It sounds simple when you’re not the one who knows exactly what could happen if he isn’t. Sometimes the exhausting part of knowing your dog isn’t making the decision. It’s having to…

  5. Why Your Dog Doesn’t Need to Learn to Handle Everything | Dog Behavior

    · 4:40 · Episode 258 · Explicit

    If your dog struggles with something, it can feel like you're supposed to train until they don't. But does your dog actually need to handle every situation in the first place? Halloween brings that pressure out fast.…

  6. What Happens When Helping Your Dog Means Questioning Something You Were Certain Was Wrong | Dog Training

    · 13 min · Episode 257 · Explicit

    You can have strong beliefs about what you would never do with a dog. Then one dog comes along and makes you question all of them. Kylie never expected Maya to need the kind of tools she once saw as punishment. But…

  7. Why a Life That Works for Your Dog Can Still Feel Like It Isn’t Enough | Life With Dogs

    · 4:40 · Episode 256 · Explicit

    Nothing about your life with your dog changed. Then you scrolled past someone else's version of it, and suddenly yours didn't feel like enough. Perfect bowls, elaborate enrichment, matching gear, picture-ready spaces.…

  8. Why Your Dog Is Already Stressed Before Halloween Even Starts | Dog Behavior

    · 5:14 · Episode 255 · Explicit

    Halloween is still weeks away, but your dog already seems a little less able to handle things they normally would. October changes more than what shows up on your porch. Your walks move, the afternoons get busier, the…

  9. How One Dog Product Can Change More Than You Ever Expected

    · 16 min · Episode 254 · Explicit

    Most dog products are just things we buy. Every once in a while, one changes something much bigger than expected. At SuperZoo, I asked pet brands about the moment they realized something they made had genuinely…

  10. Why One More Training Rep Won’t Help When Your Dog Isn’t Getting It | Dog Training

    · 5:17 · Episode 253 · Explicit

    You run it again because surely one more try is the one that finally clicks. But somewhere along the way, more effort stops moving either of you forward. It can be hard to call a training session when something still…

  11. When to Stop Playing, Even When Your Dog Is Asking for More | Dog Behavior

    · 5:01 · Episode 252 · Explicit

    You gave your dog the walk, the fetch, the training, and somehow you're the only one ready to collapse. When a full day of trying to meet your dog's needs leaves you with even more chaos, it's easy to assume you still…

  12. How Dog Products Change When Brands Actually Listen to Pet Parents

    · 12 min · Episode 251 · Explicit

    Buying something for your dog is easy. Knowing whether it’s actually worth your money is the harder part. Some of the most useful details about a product never become the headline on the package. At SuperZoo, I talked…

  13. Why Doubting the Life You Built Around Your Dog Doesn’t Mean You Got It Wrong | Life With Dogs

    · 4:58 · Episode 250 · Explicit

    Building your life around your dog can feel completely right and still leave room for the question you don’t always want to ask: Did I make the right call? Big decisions rarely come with proof that everything is going…

  14. Why More Exercise Isn’t Helping Your Dog Settle | Dog Behavior

    · 4:47 · Episode 249 · Explicit

    You did the long walk. You played fetch until your arm gave out. And somehow your dog is still pacing around the house like the day just started. “Tire them out” sounds like good advice when your dog has endless…

  15. What Pet Creators See Behind the Scenes That Pet Parents Don’t | Pet Industry

    · 7:44 · Episode 248 · Explicit

    The creators you trust the most have opinions about this industry they don't usually put in a caption. At Superzoo in August, instead of collecting swag and taking panel photos, three questions got asked to creator…

  16. How Task Training at Home Can Give You the Wrong Idea About Service Dog Potential | Dog Training

    · 4:57 · Episode 247 · Explicit

    Your dog can learn the tasks perfectly at home and still not be capable of doing the job of a service dog. I wanted Fitz to be a service dog badly enough to train him myself. He learned real tasks, including…

  17. What You Gain When You Stop Chasing the Life Everyone Else Expects for Your Dog | Dog Training

    · 4:52 · Episode 246 · Explicit

    There's a version of your life with this dog that you pictured a while back. It doesn't look anything like the one you're actually living now, and somehow that's become other people's business. At some point you…

  18. Why Speaking Up Matters When Someone Invades Your Dog’s Personal Space | Dog Body Language

    · 5:11 · Episode 245 · Explicit

    You've said it out loud before anyone's hand even moves. Somehow you're still the one bracing for what happens next. Most people don't think there's anything to ask permission for when a dog looks friendly enough to…

  19. Why More Research Is Making Your Dog Product Decisions Harder | Dog Products

    · 4:46 · Episode 244 · Explicit

    Somewhere in your house right now is a supplement you bought after one comment section convinced you it mattered, sitting next to a bag of food you're not sure you'll finish before switching again. Caring about your…

  20. How to See Progress When Your Dog Is Still Reacting | Dog Training

    · 5:09 · Episode 243 · Explicit

    You scroll past the before and after videos, the dog who used to lunge, now walking calmly on a loose leash, the caption that says six months. Then you look at your own dog, who's been in it for a year, two years,…

  21. What Happens to a Working Dog When the Job They Built Their Life Around Is Gone? | Working Dogs

    · 10 min · Episode 242 · Explicit

    The dog who once had to earn every reward with a task will still find a way to steal your Thanksgiving turkey once nobody's watching. Roadie spent his career as a military working dog, sharp, disciplined, always on…

  22. Your Dog Slows Down and Suddenly It Feels Like You’re Running Out of Time | Senior Dog

    · 5:10 · Episode 241 · Explicit

    Everything else in your life has changed shape more than once. Your dog has been there for all of it. You've moved, changed jobs, changed relationships, watched people come and go. Your body's changed, your routines…

  23. You’re Doing the Bare Minimum for Your Dog Today. And You Feel Terrible About It. | Dog Enrichment

    · 7:15 · Episode 240 · Explicit

    Your dog needs you today, but you have nothing left. There are days when everything they ask for feels like too much, not because you don't love them, not because you're doing it wrong, but because you were already…

  24. When Did Asking for Help With Your Dog Start Feeling So Risky? | Dog Community

    · 7:25 · Episode 239 · Explicit

    Someone in the dog community made you feel like you were doing it wrong, and part of you still wonders if they were right. Maybe you asked a question in a Facebook group or a Reddit thread and got judgment instead of…

  25. Why Your Stress Level Matters When You’re Managing a Reactive Dog | Dog Training

    · 7:29 · Episode 238 · Explicit

    You know where every dog is before anyone else does, the one at the end of the block, the one behind the fence, the one two streets over. You've already calculated the exits before you're even out the front door. Most…

  26. What It Means When You Love Your Dog but Don’t Enjoy Being Around Them | Dog Training Burnout

    · 6:13 · Episode 237 · Explicit

    You love your dog. You also spent today wishing they had an off switch. There are days when everything they do is the thing: the pacing, the nudging, the ball dropped at your feet for the fourteenth time, and you are…

  27. When Loving Your Next Dog Makes You Miss the One You Lost All Over Again | Pet Loss

    · 14 min · Episode 236 · Explicit

    She wasn't planning to adopt that day. She saw a photo of a dog with crusty eyes and a cone around her neck, and she just knew. Kailynn had lost her dog Pippa to cancer less than a year earlier, and fostering had…

  28. What Happens When You Can’t Trust the Person in Your House With Your Dog? | Life With Dogs

    · 6:27 · Episode 235 · Explicit

    Your dog has been there for parts of your life you've never said out loud. There's a version of this that looks fine from the outside, the version where you're functioning, managing, holding it together well enough…

  29. How Old Expectations Can Keep You From Seeing What Your Senior Dog Needs Now | Dog Training

    · 6:08 · Episode 234 · Explicit

    Your dog used to make it up the stairs without thinking. Now you watch them do the math first. Somewhere along the way, you started lifting your dog onto the couch and stopped noticing it as new. Their back legs don't…

  30. Why Being a Good Dog Parent Doesn’t Mean Every Rescue Dog Is Right for You | Dog Training

    · 25 min · Episode 233 · Explicit

    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…

  31. What Changes When Your Dog Makes the Life You Planned Impossible | Dog Training

    · 6:53 · Episode 232 · Explicit

    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…

  32. What Your Dog Needs Before the Training Can Actually Work | Dog Training

    · 6:13 · Episode 231 · Explicit

    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…

  33. Why Following Your Dog’s Prescription Exactly May Not Be Enough | Dog Health

    · 14 min · Episode 230 · Explicit

    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…

  34. How Trying to Wear Your Dog Out Can Keep Them Wired | Dog Enrichment

    · 5:27 · Episode 229 · Explicit

    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…

  35. Why Doing Less With Your Dog Can Still Be Enough

    · 5:44 · Episode 228 · Explicit

    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…

  36. Why Knowing Your Dog Is Fine Doesn’t Always Help You Stop Worrying | Dog Gear

    · 7:13 · Episode 227 · Explicit

    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…

  37. What It Means When Your Dog Is the Reason You Keep Going | Life With Dogs

    · 7:32 · Episode 226 · Explicit

    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…

  38. What Years of Uneventful Car Rides Can Make You Miss About Your Dog’s Safety | Dog Gear

    · 9:10 · Episode 225 · Explicit

    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.…

  39. Why Two Dog Supplements With the Same Ingredients Can Be Completely Different | Dog Nutrition

    · 30 min · Episode 224 · Explicit

    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…

  40. What Your Dog Was Saying Before Their Reaction Became Impossible to Miss | Dog Body Language

    · 7:06 · Episode 223 · Explicit

    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…

  41. Why Your Dog’s Training Stops Working When You Need It Most | Dog Training

    · 7:47 · Episode 222 · Explicit

    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…

  42. Why Leaving Your Dog Behind Never Feels Like a Break | Dog Gear

    · 18 min · Episode 221 · Explicit

    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…

  43. What If You Accidentally Taught Your Dog the Behavior You’re Trying to Stop? | Dog Training

    · 6:26 · Episode 220 · Explicit

    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…

  44. Why Pushing Your Dog's Progress Could Be Backfiring | Dog Training

    · 7:16 · Episode 219 · Explicit

    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…

  45. Why the Perfect Dog on Paper Can Be Completely Wrong for Your Life | Dog Training

    · 25 min · Episode 218 · Explicit

    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…

  46. When Your Dog’s Reactions Feel Like Proof You’re Failing Them | Dog Training

    · 6:15 · Episode 217 · Explicit

    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…

  47. What Grief Looks Like When Your Dog Is Still Here | Pet Loss

    · 7:08 · Episode 216 · Explicit

    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…

  48. Why Nothing You’ve Tried for Your Dog’s Itching and Bad Breath Is Working | Dog Health

    · 19 min · Episode 215 · Explicit

    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…

  49. Why Your Dog Isn’t Back to Normal Even Though the Fireworks Have Been Over For Hours | Dog Training

    · 6:09 · Episode 214 · Explicit

    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…

  50. How Making Every Decision About Your Dog Alone Can Make You Trust Yourself Less | Life With Dogs

    · 7:22 · Episode 213 · Explicit

    Being the only one who decides for your dog costs more than you think. You've stayed up at midnight researching food, training, or health decisions, wishing someone would just tell you that you're not getting it…

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