The Dog Who Asked for More: Dog Training and Dog Behavior for Relief from Guilt, Burnout, and Self-Doubt

Emily "Em" Breslin | Dog Training and Relationship Specialist
  • 4.9 (44)
  • Pets & Animals
  • Updated Semiweekly

Are you tired of cookie-cutter dog training podcasts that don't actually help your struggling dog and leave you feeling even more frustrated? If you feel like you've tried everything and your dog is STILL reactive, anxious, or overwhelmed, 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 that talks about both sides: your dog's behavior and what it costs you to love a dog who needs more. I'm Em. Former vet tech, dog trainer, and canine nutritionist. I went looking for a dog community that actually understood what this felt like, 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: - Understand your dog's behavior without shame or guesswork - Feel confident instead of helpless — because when you know what to do, your dog can feel it too, and start to settle - Build a calmer, more connected relationship through training, nutrition, and enrichment - Feel less alone in the burnout, grief, and quiet exhaustion of loving a dog who needs more Solo episodes, guest conversations, and real stories, three times a week, covering the dog side (behavior, reactivity, nutrition, enrichment, body language) and the human side (grief, burnout, and what it costs and gives you to love a dog like this). 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

  1. 1d ago

    Their Dog Changed in Six Months. You’re Two Years In and Still Dealing With This. | Dog Training

    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, more, and still reacts to the exact same thing they reacted to on day one. Nobody posts the middle. They post the before and they post the after, and the eighteen months in between where nothing looked like it was working never makes it into the caption. So you start doing the math on what that says about you, whether you're not consistent enough, whether you missed something, whether your dog is ever going to get there. But you're not just teaching your dog something new. You're undoing something that's already there, and undoing takes longer than starting from nothing, every single time. You'll hear: Why doing everything right, working with a trainer, staying consistent, showing up every day, can still look exactly like day one for a long timeWhat actually changed once progress stopped being measured by whether the reaction still happened at allThe small, easy to miss signs that things are working, the ones that never make it into anyone's caption Press play if you've ever watched someone else's after and felt like proof you were still stuck at zero. Read Em's Weekly Blog The podcast starts the conversation. The blog takes it deeper. Every week, you'll find expanded insights from the latest episodes, practical takeaways you can use with your own dog, and Monday articles that tackle the everyday questions and challenges dog parents face. 👉https://thedogwhoaskedformore.com/blog Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour

  2. 3d ago

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

    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 the job. When Paul brought him home for good, neither of them knew what came next. The chewing that replaced the anticipation of a task. The people food he'd never been allowed to want, and then wanted constantly. The slow, hard-won lesson that he was allowed to just lie in the middle of the living room floor and watch everyone he loved, instead of working for it. You'll hear: What the first genuinely uneventful day at home looked like for a dog who had never had one beforeThe specific things Roadie had to unlearn, and the things Paul had to unlearn about how he treated himWhat aging looked like once Roadie was just a house dog instead of a working one, and the small, ordinary moment Paul says he'd give anything to have back Press play if you've ever watched a dog who was built for a job try to figure out how to just be loved instead. Read Em's Weekly Blog The podcast starts the conversation. The blog takes it deeper. Every week, you'll find expanded insights from the latest episodes, practical takeaways you can use with your own dog, and Monday articles that tackle the everyday questions and challenges dog parents face. 👉https://thedogwhoaskedformore.com/blog Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

  3. 5d ago

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

    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 have been torn up and rebuilt more times than you can count. And somewhere in the middle of all that, your dog just kept being your dog, same greeting, same spot on the couch, same way they look at you whether it's been an hour or a year. You didn't plan for them to become the one fixed point. It just happened. You'll hear: Why becoming someone's stability changes how you protect that relationship, often without you noticing it's happeningWhat so many people going through a divorce, a move, or a hard rebuild all say about their dog without realizing it's the same sentenceWhy understanding exactly why your dog matters this much doesn't make you need them any less Press play if your dog has quietly become the one thing that didn't have to change, and you've never said that part out loud. Read Em's Weekly Blog The podcast starts the conversation. The blog takes it deeper. Every week, you'll find expanded insights from the latest episodes, practical takeaways you can use with your own dog, and Monday articles that tackle the everyday questions and challenges dog parents face. 👉https://thedogwhoaskedformore.com/blog Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

  4. Sep 4

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

    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 empty before they brought you the ball for the first time that morning. And they don't know that. They just know you're there, and the gap between what they need and what you have left can feel impossible to close. So you start doing the math: what's the minimum I can give today and still feel okay about it? You'll hear: Why most advice about meeting your dog's needs assumes you have unlimited energy to give, and what that leaves out completelyThe third option between giving everything and giving nothing that actually works on the days the math doesn't add upWhy a version of you that's calm and present might do more for your dog than a version of you that's exhausted but going through all the motions Press play if you've ever thrown the ball anyway, not because you had it in you, but because you love them and there was nobody else. Free Enrichment Guide Simple, low-pressure enrichment ideas to help your dog feel calmer and more fulfilled. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/livingwiththedoginfrontofyou Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

  5. Sep 2

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

    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 an answer. Maybe you tried to help someone else and got torn apart for it. The dog community can be one of the most supportive places on the internet, and it can also be one of the cruelest, and that cruelty has a specific shape: gatekeeping, pile-ons, moderators who make people feel small instead of safe. After it happens once, most people go quiet. They stop asking the question out loud. But the question doesn't go away, it just stops getting said. You'll hear: The specific moment a moderator publicly humiliated Em, and what happened afterward that revealed the whole thing was never really personalWhy years of vet med experience and multiple certifications still weren't enough to protect against being made to feel wrongWhat actually changes when a space is built to treat still figuring it out as normal, instead of as evidence you shouldn't be there Press play if you've ever stopped asking a question about your dog because somewhere, once, someone made you feel small for asking it. Read Em's Weekly Blog The podcast starts the conversation. The blog takes it deeper. Every week, you'll find expanded insights from the latest episodes, practical takeaways you can use with your own dog, and Monday articles that tackle the everyday questions and challenges dog parents face. 👉https://thedogwhoaskedformore.com/blog Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

  6. Aug 31

    The Walk Went Fine. So Why Are You Still Recovering From It? | Dog Training Burnout

    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 people who manage a reactive dog for long enough stop noticing they're doing it at all. The route planning, the scanning, the constant recalculating, it just becomes how you move through the world. And it works. Most of the time you catch the thing before it becomes a thing. But nobody sees the three decisions you made before you even reached the corner, and invisible work that isn't acknowledged doesn't disappear. It compounds. You'll hear: Why the better you get at keeping your dog calm, the more on edge you start to feel yourself, even when nothing's happeningThe specific way stress moves back and forth between a dog and the person holding their leash, even when everything looks fine on the surfaceWhat starts to shift once you begin paying as much attention to your own state as you do to your dog's Press play if you've ever come home from a walk that went completely fine and still needed twenty minutes before you felt like yourself again. Dog Body Language Library Not sure what your dog's behavior is communicating? Check out the free video library and submit your own videos to help other pet parents! 👉https://thedogwhoaskedformore.com/dog-body-language Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

  7. Aug 28

    You Love Your Dog. You Also Need Them to Leave You Alone for Five Minutes. | Dog Training Burnout

    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 already running on empty before any of it even starts. Then the guilt shows up, because you're supposed to love this, you chose this dog, you know what they need. But loving them completely and needing a break from them can both be true on the exact same day, and neither one cancels the other out. You'll hear: Why the exact same request from your dog feels completely different depending on how much you have left to give that dayThe specific, twisted logic guilt uses to convince you that being tired means you didn't love them enough, and why that logic is wrongWhat the realest version of love actually looks like on the hardest days, and why it has nothing to do with feeling good in the moment Press play if you've ever loved your dog completely and still needed them to just stop for five minutes. Free Enrichment Guide Simple, low-pressure enrichment ideas to help your dog feel calmer and more fulfilled. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/livingwiththedoginfrontofyou 🐾 Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

  8. Aug 26

    Loving Another Dog After Loss Means Risking This All Over Again | Pet Loss

    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 already become part of how she was healing. Then she saw Tinsley's shelter photo right around the anniversary of Pippa's passing, and something about it made the decision before she'd even thought it through. What she didn't expect was how much of Pippa she'd keep finding inside this new dog, the same rare disease, the same gentle temperament, even the same outfits fitting perfectly. You'll hear: What it actually looked like to keep fostering while still caring for a dying dog, and why that overlap became part of the healing itselfThe specific health parallels between Tinsley and Pippa that felt like more than coincidence, and how Kailynn made sense of thatThe moment a routine health scare with Tinsley brought all the grief from Pippa's final days rushing back, and what that taught her about the difference between loving a dog and replacing one Press play if you've ever looked at a dog's photo and said yes before you understood why. Read Em's Weekly Blog The podcast starts the conversation. The blog takes it deeper. Every week, you'll find expanded insights from the latest episodes, practical takeaways you can use with your own dog, and Monday articles that tackle the everyday questions and challenges dog parents face. 👉https://thedogwhoaskedformore.com/blog 🐾 Help Us Hit the Road We're raising money to take this podcast on the road — an RV, a microphone, and 20 years of experience coming to you. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/fuelthepodcast Shop What Em Uses with Fitz & Toby Enrichment tools, nutrition support, and daily essentials — all in one place. 👉 thedogwhoaskedformore.myshopdot.com Free 15-Minute Clarity Call Feeling stuck or unsure what your dog needs? Book a short call, and we'll talk through what's going on. 👉 https://thedogwhoaskedformore.hbportal.co/schedule/668856198dc476001953809b Questions 📧 em@thedogwhoaskedformore.com This podcast explores life with dogs, dog behavior, dog behavior problems, dog obedience, dog anxiety, reactive dogs, dog reactivity, and dog training. It's for the dog community navigating overwhelm, guilt, burnout, and self-doubt while struggling to keep up with a dog who asks for more. Episodes cover canine nutrition, dog food, dog enrichment, dog body language, dog communication, emotional healing, self-trust, personal growth, and finding real relief in the connection you have with your dog. Whether you're raising a reactive dog, feeling discouraged, or simply trying to better understand your dog and yourself, this podcast helps you create a calmer life together and strengthen the bond that changes both of you. We're now building to take this conversation on the road, bringing honest support directly to dog parents around the world. Some links may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase, it helps support the podcast and the RV tour.

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4.9
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About

Are you tired of cookie-cutter dog training podcasts that don't actually help your struggling dog and leave you feeling even more frustrated? If you feel like you've tried everything and your dog is STILL reactive, anxious, or overwhelmed, 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 that talks about both sides: your dog's behavior and what it costs you to love a dog who needs more. I'm Em. Former vet tech, dog trainer, and canine nutritionist. I went looking for a dog community that actually understood what this felt like, 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: - Understand your dog's behavior without shame or guesswork - Feel confident instead of helpless — because when you know what to do, your dog can feel it too, and start to settle - Build a calmer, more connected relationship through training, nutrition, and enrichment - Feel less alone in the burnout, grief, and quiet exhaustion of loving a dog who needs more Solo episodes, guest conversations, and real stories, three times a week, covering the dog side (behavior, reactivity, nutrition, enrichment, body language) and the human side (grief, burnout, and what it costs and gives you to love a dog like this). 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

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