Madcap Radio

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep46 - Why Puppies Pee In The House Even When They've Just Been Outside

The question comes from the discussion group for our With Open Arms puppy owner course:
“Looking for a podcast - Hello! Our 15-week-old puppy is presenting some potty training challenges…While he's reliably house-trained for bowel movements, he frequently urinates on rugs, likely because they resemble the puppy pads he's familiar with. More puzzling that even when we take him outside at the recommended intervals, he'll pass small amounts of urine and then refuse to empty his bladder fully, even after 10+ minutes. Inevitably, within 20 minutes of coming back inside, he'll urinate on a rug.
He's very able to stay in his kennel for a full 2-hour nap with no anxiety or accidents. So he certainly is physically capable of holding his bladder.
We are not sure what we are doing wrong or if this is just to be expected and to be patient. It does seem like he thinks that the rugs is the place to pee. Let me know if you have any tips! ”
This podcast covers:
Why being able to take a two-hour nap without peeing does not mean a puppy can hold it for two hours while awake
Why “double and triple peeing” is really a developmental thing
The physical reasons puppies may target fabric to relieve themselves
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep45 - New Study Finds That Kimchi Removes Microplastics From The Body: Should We Give it to Our Dogs?

A new study was published this week, showing that a specific strain of probiotic found in kimchi is extremely good at binding up and carrying microplastics out of the body.
We, and our dogs, are surrounded by plastic, it’s inescapable, and the accumulation of nanoparticles of plastic in our bodies is also inescapable - and very bad for our and our dogs' health.
So the student question this episode is:
“Should we be giving our dogs kimchi?”
In this episode I serve up:
The practical takeaways from the kimchi study for canine nutrition
The “Foodome” project and network analysis of food
Why the next big thing is “everything”
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep44 - From Raw to Kibble: Preparing Puppies for Kibble‑Feeding Homes

This episode’s question comes from the discussion group for my new weaning and early puppy nutrition course, “Weaning For Life: From Gut Biome to Behavior, A Whole Approach to Early Puppy Nourishment”.
“Some of my puppies go home on raw, others to healthy kibble with whole‑food toppers. Historically, I always include at least one kibble meal—often from toys or snuffle mats, sometimes mixed with whole foods. Is there a more refined or appropriate protocol?”
In this episode, we dig into the real‑world question breeders face every day: If, and how, to transition raw‑weaned puppies when their future homes will be feeding mostly kibble.
This podcast covers:
How I prepare raw‑weaned puppies for life in kibble‑feeding homes
What other breeders are experiencing when transitioning puppies from raw to kibble
Practical strategies for helping puppy owners either stay with raw, or significantly upgrade their kibble feeding with whole and fermented foods
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep43 - Puppy Camp for Litters

We got this question about breeders sending their puppies to “camp” before going to their new homes:
“[a friend] has a litter of puppies 8 weeks old and she is placing them out to her friends until they are 10 weeks old. They decided it would be good for socialization and to prevent separation anxiety for the puppies until they go to their permanent homes at 10 weeks. That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. Anyone have experience with this?”
This episode discusses:
When and how sending litters to “transitional” homes is beneficial
“Bite inhibition” and exposure with littermates vs adult dogs
Breeder experiences and practices
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep42 - Troubleshooting Free Stack Training

This episode’s question is from one of our Killer Free Stack show training students, but my answer is equally applicable to anyone training a dog:
“Hi all, I have a 10-week-old Labrador puppy. I have the Killer Free Stacks video… when I try to get a moment of stillness to mark, she auto-sits. If I hold the food in front of her, she digs at it hard and will sit. Any tips for teaching a stack would be great!”
In this podcast I cover:
Tips for hand position to avoid cueing sits
How to know if your puppy understands what you want him to do
What to do it your puppy’s just not “getting it”
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep41 - Freestyling Mother's Pudding

This episode is about using mother’s pudding for lactating dams:
“I was just wondering what brand of cool and serve vanilla pudding mix you are all using for mother’s pudding…The last litter I had, the puppies got diarrhea on day 3 (nightmare) and we never got it fully resolved until they got onto food at 3 weeks... We ruled out EVERYTHING we could think of…the only thing we could come up with was the mother’s pudding…[this dam is about to have another litter and] I want to use it because they do so much better on it with the calories. Help!”
In this episode, I explore:
Allergens that are theoretically possible to be passed through mother’s milk
Homemade mother’s pudding and switching up ingredients in mother’s pudding for different situations
Whether or not you should be concerned about mother’s pudding for your dams
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep40 - Why and When to Give Egg Yolks to Pregnant Dogs

This episode is a follow-up question about one of our most popular episodes, “An Egg Yolk A Day Keeps Mastitis Away”:
“At what point in the pregnancy should I begin giving my dam egg yolk to help prevent mastitis?”
In this episode, I discuss:
Why egg yolks are a benefit for pregnant and lactating dogs
Best practices for when to begin feeding egg yolks to your brood bitches
Cooked vs Raw egg yolks and egg whites
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.

Puppy Culture Potluck: Ep39 - Yeast-Based Probiotic Supplements for Brood Bitches: When They Make Sense and When They Don't

One of our fans wrote to me recently about a webinar she attended on the veterinary use of probiotics:
"The thing that intrigued me was…a study where one group of pregnant bitches was on a yeast-based probiotic, and the control group on no probiotic. There were benefits to both bitches and puppies, such as more stable GI tract and stool quality during whelping in the mothers on the probiotic, and they were less likely to have puppies of low birth weight.
I know Jane works a lot at supporting the gut biome, but interesting info about a specific yeast and a specific time."
This podcast untangles:
The difference between yeast and bacteria-based probiotics
How yeast-based probiotic supplements might help or harm a pregnant bitch, depending on the context
How to decide if a yeast or other probiotic is appropriate for your pregnant dam
Visit our website www.madcapradio.com for further reading.