Do you know the difference between a therapy animal and a service animal? Most people use these two terms interchangeably, but they are actually two very different things. Therapy animals provide physiological and psychological therapy to people other than their owners. Service animals help their owners perform tasks that the owner cannot do on their own.

What types of animals can be therapy animals? What tasks do they perform, and what environments can they work in? In this week’s episode, I’m speaking with Elisabeth Van Every, the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for Pet Partners. Pet Partners is the nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit organization that registers handlers of therapy animals.

Owning a gun dog means devoting your spare time to ongoing training. It’s a big responsibility, and you can’t expect your gun dog to be fully trained in just a few short months. There’s a lot of research to be done before you even bring a gun dog home. What breed will be best for your needs? When should you begin training?

This week’s episode features dog training expert Martin Deeley. Martin has been training dogs for more than 35 years, his dogs have won trials in the United States and Britain, and he’s also an accomplished writer on the subject of gun dogs. In this interview, Martin discusses some tips for gun dog owners and gives advice to hunters who are training and working with gun dogs.

Choosing high quality grooming products for your dog will have a positive impact no his overall health and well-being. It may even increase his life expectancy. I know this sounds like an extreme statement, but it’s true. Many dangerous ingredients found in a majority of pet grooming products have been linked to life threatening conditions including cancer, organ damage and neurological problems.

Today, I’m discussing the dangers of low-quality commercial pet grooming products. I spoke with Julie Creed, VP of Sales and Marketing for Pura Naturals Pet, to get some information on the importance of choosing safe grooming products and what types of ingredients pet owners should be looking for. In this podcast episode, you’ll learn about labeling loopholes that some companies use to pass their grooming products off as safe, but that may not actually be the case.

Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is becoming a growing treatment in the human and veterinary medical fields. CBD is a substance extracted from the hemp plant, which makes it a controversial topic in either industry. As more research is being done on the effectiveness of CBD on health conditions such as cancer, arthritis, stress and anxiety, more and more people are seeking this treatment for themselves and their pets.

This week I was fortunate enough to speak with Christina O’Reilly, co-founder of Rowley’s Good Stuff. Rowley’s makes a CBD-infused nutbutter for dogs. In this podcast episode I will explain why CBD products may be better for your pet than over-the-counter or prescription treatments and how to choose the right CBD products for your pet.

Fostering a pet is a unique experience that allows you to help your local shelter or animal rescue organization learn more about the pets in their care. Living in a shelter can be an overwhelming experience for some animals. There are new smells all the time, new people to get used to on a daily basis, and other animals coming and going regularly.

Sensory overload in a shelter environment can lead to behavior trouble, aggression issues or cause some pets to become extremely scared and introverted. Bringing a foster pet into your home allows you to see what the animal is like in a home setting. You can report this information to the shelter or rescue organization you’re working with, and they will pass it on to potential adopters.

Foster Dogs Inc. is an organization specifically dedicated to helping foster parents work successfully with shelters and rescue groups. They offer the communication and support that potential foster parents will need to make it through the challenges of bringing a new pet into their home. Today, I’m speaking with the founder and executive director of Foster Dogs Inc., Sarah Brasky to learn more about the responsibilities of pet foster parents and how you can get started helping animals in need.

I get a lot of questions from pet owners who are curious about feeding their pet a plant-based diet. Is it safe? Can your pet get all of the nutrition that he needs from a plant-based diet? I feed our pets an omnivorous diet, so I was curious about a plant-based diet as well.

I asked one of my most popular podcast guests, Dr. Jennifer Adolphe, to come on Theory of Pets again and discuss a vegetarian diet for pets. She is the Senior Nutritionist for Petcurean, a premium pet food company. Dr. Adolphe has a PhD in companion animal nutrition and is a registered dietician.