What Is Your Rescue Dog Trying to Tell You?
When a dog's behavior changes or a problem won't go away, most of us ask the same question: how do I stop this? Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach Debi McKee suggests starting with a different one: what might this dog be trying to tell me?
In this episode, Debi explains why health and behavior are more connected than many dog parents realize. She describes how stress, pain, digestion, sleep, routine, and environment can all affect how a dog feels and acts. She also talks about adopted dogs, who often arrive with an unknown history and then face new food, people, routines, and expectations all at once.
Listeners will learn how stress can show up in less obvious ways, like changes in appetite, sleep, energy, focus, and reactivity. Debi explains why no single food, supplement, or training technique has all the answers. She also shows how looking for patterns can tell you much more than focusing on one behavior by itself: what changed, what happened before the problem started, and what keeps repeating.
It's a practical, curiosity-first conversation for anyone who has ever wondered why their dog does what they do.
Listen to Episode #71 Now:
BIO:
Debi McKee is the founder of Rescue Dogs 101 and a Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach, trained through Dr. Ruth Roberts' Holistic Pet Health Coach Program. Her work grows out of years of hands-on rescue experience. Since 2014, she has volunteered with a local dog rescue, where she has fostered many dogs, done home visits to help match dogs with adopters, and worked at adoption events and fundraising campaigns. She has also worked as a Canine Care Assistant at Dane County Humane Society.
Rescue Dogs 101 began as a way for Debi to share what she had learned through fostering and training, and it has grown into a resource on adoption, behavior, and wellness for rescue dog parents. Through Dog Wellness Journey, she offers whole-dog support that looks at how behavior, stress, nutrition, gut health, environment, and routine are connected. Her continuing education includes training with Dr. Katie Woodley, The Natural Pet Doctor; SpiritDog Training; Dr. Ian Dunbar; and Susan Garrett's Recallers program.