Killing them with kindness
Got any tips?
In this episode, things kick off the usual way: a bit of a ramble, no real structure, and plenty of honest chat, laced with sarcasm (Scottish) and snark (London).
There’s no guest this time, which means the nonsense levels are dangerously high—but somehow, it works. After book awards, CIDBT Fast-Track students they move on to the kind of conversations the industry usually avoids.
There’s a glimpse into what’s coming next season: proper guests, serious topics…the best season yet!!
But for now, it’s just two behaviour professionals, fed up with the same old patterns. Thirty years on, and still people are getting it wrong. Kindness, it turns out, can be fatal. If the dog ends up worse off or dead, is that kind?
Social media gets a bashing (as it should). So do predictable cases: guarding cockapoos, rehoming that’s barely an option anymore, the legal and moral mess that dogs and their people are left to navigate. And yes, scrotums come up again—don’t ask.
There’s also a strange detour into black-and-white rabies films that traumatised a generation (well, half of them—one was too young to remember, or possibly not even born).
Vaccines, eyebrow ticks, Brucella, and a whole lot of professional firefighting.
One of them’s not quite functioning. The other’s battling an itchy ear. Somehow, they hold it together long enough to call time before it all falls apart.
It’s mostly nonsense, a few proper insights, and more than a few laughs. Next time? A guest to keep things (marginally) on track.
🎧 Shoutout to Paul Quinlan at The Traditional Leather Lead Co—makers of proper kit for dogs… and maybe podcast hosts too.
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Lez and Ross have both been in the industry professionally for well over 20 years and each has been involved with dogs for over 40 years.
Whilst sensibly they have stayed away from the ‘limelight’ regarding TV offers, they have regularly been on national and local radio, spoken at national events at NDWA, CFBA, and Kennel Club / Crufts events as well as bespoke speaking engagements for the Dog Safety Education Executive (DogSEE).
Ross wrote for Dogs Monthly Magazine for over 12 years and Lez was the first lady feature writer for a national Shooting Magazine (both Sporting Gun and Sporting Shooter).
They were also 'study buddies' and were the first in the UK to achieve a Masters Degree (Professional Practice) in Canine Behaviour and Psychology in 2011.
They work well together and apart, support and work with dog rescue organisations and train professional dog trainers and behaviourists.
Different as chalk and cheese, but maybe not as different as they like to think.
Intrigued? want to know more? then check out our websites...
www.rossmccarthy.com ~ www.lezgraham.com
And if you'd rather watch than listen, you can catch Gundogs and Guard Dogs on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/@gundogguarddog
