Welcome to
DOG TALK® the Radio Show

[Dr. Jack Stephens, Founder of Pet Insurance, Answers Pet Parent Questions (PDF)]

Tracie is a passionate believer in the value of insurance for every pet (which she writes about in both books). She wants people to have the financial protection necessary with today's sophisticated and costly medical options for pets.

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Dog Talk® Guest Author: May 31, 2008

Merle's Door: Lessons From a Freethinking Dog: Want to hear Ted Karasote? Ask him questions about this remarkable life he shared with Merle? He's going to spend the full hour of DOG TALK on May 31st with Tracie, discussing the theories he evolved from life and from research into canine evolution and behavior. So get the book now and you'll get so much more out of this conversation. 

Click here to go to Amazon to buy Merle's Door.

These Dogs Need a Home!

STOP! Don't scroll away...please take a look at this gorgeous group of dogs, all of whom MUST be found a home by the end of June. This shelter in Indiana is closing and any dogs left behind must be killed. There is such a great choice of dogs here and that amazing "underground transport system" you've been learning about on DOG TALK will get these dogs to any of us willing to put down another dog bed! PLEASE consider that, and at the very least pass this on to anyone to you know who might be considering adding a dog to their family. Our Northeast shelters don't have many dogs this sweet or varied or adoptable - from puppies to grown dogs.

Anybody who adopts or helps get adopted any of these dogs will get a copy of The Dog Bible from me and a whole lot of goodies!

Hello everyone!
My name is Christie and I volunteer with Animal Education and Rescue in Libertyville. We have a working relationship with a shelter in Marion IN and the shelter manager there is a wonderful soul. They unfortunately are closing at the end of June (roughly) and any animal there on that day will be euthanized. 2 other volunteers and myself went down to take pictures and bios of their dogs.Please click on the link and look at these sweet dogs! There are many different breeds, each dog needing a home, otherwise they will get euthanized the day the shelter doors close. There are no and's, if's, or's, but's or maybe's...it is going to happen!

http://picsbycindy.com/marion_grant_dogs.htm

Wouldn't it be amazing if those doors closed and there was not one single soul left behind to die? We are their only hope in finding homes and not living out the rest of their days on death row. This is no small feat, don't get me wrong, and yet it is not an impossibility. Heck, you just might know someone at work who has been looking for a dog...well, here you have it! We told them we would try to help place as many as we could in rescue groups. We are reaching out to all of the area rescues asking if anyone can help. I chose to reach out to the bully breed rescues as I own a pit mix and am fostering a pit bull and I LOVE them both dearly. I have included a link to the pictures that Cindy Falstad took that day. If you can help please let me know by e-mail or phone 847-371-1147 or 847-404-8143. Transport will be provided.

Thanks in advance,
Christie

Hear Tracie's Podcast as the Orvis Dog Expert

Listen to Tracie giving 5 minute Dog Tips for Orvis, the wonderful family-owned company that loves dogs and has a great catalogue of cool things for them. Orvis also happens to be Tracie's neighbor in this lovely state of Vermont, so it's an especially sweet partnership.

Sign up for the Weekly Dog Talk® Podcast

For more great information about "all things dog," sign up for our podcast announcements! We'll let you know when the latest show is available for download or for listening online. Please enter your e-mail address in the box below and click "Submit" to sign up!

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NO ONE will be able to get hold of your email address from me, I promise you that. I’d rather toss the entire list into a pen full of playful puppies to shred, than to expose you to anything less entertaining than DOG TALK®!

Tell your dog-loving friends about this website - tell them to come here to subscribe, also. Be generous! Share the fun! Why should you be the only one who gets to hear DOG TALK®.

May 17 Show: BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Tune in on May 17th: Arden Moore talks to Tracie on DOG TALK® and gives away copies of her dog book:

The Dog Behavior Answer Book: Practical Insights & Proven Solutions for Your Canine Questions.

Tracie Scores Another Discount For Her Listeners!
15% Off On Pet Food Direct!

"Hey Everybody! I am so excited - I just got a special exclusive discount on food for Dog Talk and Cat Chat fans - you're going to get 15% off your orders at Pet Food Direct! It happened because on the last Cat Chat, my devoted fan Deb (Ginger's mommy) called in from New York City and explained how she orders Weruva and other premium cat foods by waiting for the periodic increasing discounts at Pet Food Direct before placing an order. I had been talking about this incredible new cat food called Weruva (real pieces of people-quality chicken breast made in a human food factory, no less) and that I worried how people were going to be able to find it. Well, as my dear fellow Martha Stewart Radio Morning Living host Kim Fernandez once told me, "If you don't hold your hand out, you don't get the peanut." And I got it for you!

" All this is the round-about way of telling you that from now on you have 15% off anything you buy at Pet Food Direct - and that is pretty darn cool. (One note about their shipping costs, which I mentioned to them when asking for this break for my listeners. They said they do not mark the mailing costs up one penny, and also they are hoping to open a West Coast facility so that shipping charges are not so rough going Westward.

" So click on the link below and fill your pets' tummies with the all best stuff any company puts in a can."

—Tracie

15% OFF COUPON For CAT CHAT® Listeners

15% OFF COUPON for DOG TALK® Listeners

"P.S. Sadly there are always skeptics and cynics out there so let me head them off at the pass and assure them that I get no personal benefit from this arrangement. I made it happen because I love all of you (even the Doubters!!) I really admire how much you love your cats and dogs and respect my advice enough to follow it. I would not dream of receiving any credit or compensation for arranging this great deal - just as I do not sell anything from my website, or have anybody counting clicks anywhere.Sometimes people just do nice things because it feels good - and making other people happy makes them happy. Ain't that the cat's pajamas? "

 

RECENT SHOW NOTES

SHOW #71: (APR 12, 2008) Here are the links from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that relate to the use of dog, cat and other fur on our clothing:

Investigation on dog and cat fur in China/Asia
Footage of a raccoon dog (a wild dog species) being skinned alive in China.
Video of pets caught in traps
HSUS website page on dog and cat victims of the fur trade

SHOW #66: (MAR 08, 2008) Are you grieving for a pet? Sometimes it takes a professional to help us process the sadness and pain of losing a beloved pet. Listen to Dr. Kathleen Ayl on the DOG TALK podcast of March 8 2008. You can also contact her here: drayl@vmsg.com Or visit her Website: www.griefassociates.com.

SHOW #64: (FEB 23, 2008) Diane Monahan founded the private Weimeraner/Sport Dog rescue Friends for Pets in Southern California - where Tracie adopted her first Weimeraner and fell in love with the breed. Diane talks about the importance of choosing the right micro-chip to protect your dogs and cats. 

Robin Starr, Chief Executive Officer of the Richmond, Virginia SPCA, talks about the horrors of Puppy Mills in her home state. You might want to have a look at the brilliant piece she wrote for the local paper. The shelter she runs is a private, non-profit no-kill humane society that cares for about 3,000 homeless animals yearly and has a public spay/neuter clinic that does more than 11,000 surgeries annually. Read the Article. (PDF, 12KB).

SHOW #63: (FEB 16, 2008) Danielle Vasta won Petsitter of the Year Award from NAPPS - the National Assosciation of Professional Petsitters - and now she has begun a consulting business to help others learn how to start a successful petsitting business of their own.  

SHOW #62: (FEB 9, 2008) Did you hear the DOG TALK® show FEBRUARY 9th with the kids from Dawnwood Middle School in Centereach who made houses for feral cats? Do you have any extra lumber you can spare to make more houses?? Are you anywhere near Centereach?? Please contact their teacher Natalie and let them put your wood to good use: www.youthforhumanity.mccsd.site.eboard.com

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Who is Tracie and Why is Everybody Talking About Her?!

Tracie Hotchner is the author of THE DOG BIBLE: Everything Your Dog Wants You to Know (Gotham Books, November 2005), which is an encyclopedic guide to every aspect of sharing your life with a dog. At 750 pages, everything you can imagine is covered, from the mundane to the controversial - with startling facts about what’s really in the dog food you’re serving, whether vaccinations really cause cancer, and the hidden horrors of puppy mills, as well as the easiest way to keep your dog from jumping on guests. The down-to-earth practical information in the book has made it a best-seller and is already changing the way people relate to their canine family members all across the country.

About The Show

DOG TALK® The Radio Show gives you a chance to join in conversations between Tracie and callers about these topics and many more, always with the goal of having a good laugh while enhancing the life we share with our pooches.

Dog Talk® Baseball Caps - $10 plus $3 S&H

All profits from the sale of Dog Talk Baseball Caps will go to the Morris Animal Foundation for a "Dog Talk" research grant. Show your devotion to Dog Talk and your commitment to improving the lives of pets through responsible research. Hats are $10.00 + $3.00 S&H.

Why not get a CAT CHAT cap at the same time to recognize the felines in your life?

Listen to the Show

Starting Saturday December 9th, DOG TALK® The Radio Show is available live every Saturday morning from 11 AM to Noon (EST) and is simultaneously streamed live on the internet. The show comes to you live from the studios of NPR affiliate WLIU-FM 88.3 in Southampton, New York. You can also listen to any previous shows right here on the site. Just click on the links that come up under “Library of Shows.

DOG TALK® is also downloadable for your ipod from iTunes or right here.

Sign up for the newsletter and you’ll get a link to the current show sent to your computer every week

How To Call Tracie

Just dial 800-394-8830 between 11 AM and Noon (EST) on Saturdays and get in line to ask Tracie absolutely any question about the emotional, practical or medical care of your pooch. Listen in and feel free to comment on any questions or answers you hear.

 

Where are the On-Air Tips?

Every week people ask me questions, some of which may not be in The Dog Bible or I cannot answer well enough on the air. Also, they want specific advice about products and services and ways to go right to them. The only way to keep all these bits of information under control is to park them all at The Dog Bible -- where you can go by clicking www.thedogbible.com.

When you go there you'll find what you need in one of three places: under the Useful Links tab (that's Yogi Bear, my loveable Rottweiler who died of bone cancer), under Inside the Book (and then go to "Additions and Corrections") or under the Q&A tab, because there are some great questions and answers catalogued there with really useful information.

Dog Links

You'll find lots of helpful dog-related links on Tracie's THE DOG BIBLE site

Teach Your Kids to Read Dog

Read more about Teach Your Kids to Read Dog, Tracie's bite-prevention efforts in association with the HSUS. And in that spirit, here are Scooby Doo Hotchners' Twenty-Five Rules For Kids that you can download to look at with your own family or share with school teachers and other parent.

Whom To Thank

WLIU-FM is an NPR affiliate, and therefore is a non-profit, listener-supported station. We owe them our gratitude, and even a few bucks while you’re at it! -- for their bold decision to give dog-lovers a full hour every week to talk to Tracie personally, creating a dog-centric community on the air. If this makes you happy, don’t keep it to yourself! Go to www.WLIU.org and Say “Thanks” with any size contribution you’re comfortable giving. No amount is too small: if each person gives as little as a few dollars -- call it the price of a box of dog biscuits -- this show will be safely on the air for years to come. Do it for your dog’s sake!

 

About the Dog Talk® Theme

That's "My Best Friend," written and performed by dog-lover Sophie B. Hawkins from her album Timbre. Get Timbre at Amazon.com.