This review was originally drafted in March, and alas the pandemic happened, but my thoughts remain the same -
Although this podcast is no longer actively producing episodes, there was a ton of potential and interesting topics covered (even the few that weren’t entirely focused on dogs). You do need a little bit of Dog Instagram culture knowledge to reference to, but most content was accessible even if you are relatively new to dog ownership, as Laney takes time to make sure information is put in layman terms.
Be forewarned, commitment to episodes can be hefty - great for long road trips, or broken up into smaller commutes/segments. The audio quality is really my only “complaint” - with hearing difficulties, put on full blast while driving, I still only caught about 80% of what was said. The volumes can go up and down depending on guests, ads, etc. I really wish better equipment and/or transcripts were utilized so you didn’t miss some of the good parts.
Some episodes come off like listening to a private phone call between friends (especially more early on), and others are much more Q+A interview-based. In most cases, the guest does most of the talking and Laney does her job to push the narrative along naturally so you can really hear the story candidly from the original source.
Of course, there are lots of biases and opinions on this hobbyist podcast, but you can take what you want, consider it, and either dive in deeper or agree to disagree and move on. After all, you are taking a glance into Laney and Lorelei’s experience/story/network! The personal interest/take on topics and the selection of guests is probably what really breathes life into this podcast most.
Sure, beyond the audio, there could have been more concision, more open discussions, sticking to an organized format, and/or lessening of personal tangents/opinions, but the rawness of the episodes is really what made this a podcast worth taking a listen to. It would have been fun to have been a guest and to see it continue to grow - maybe one day!
