The State of Animal Welfare in 2025

SEND US A QUESTION OR TOPIC FOR A FUTURE SHOW...If you enjoy the K.I.S.S. Dog Training Podcast and want to help support what we do, you can become a monthly supporter for as little as $3 a month. K.I.S.S. Dog Training is my full-time job, and producing the podcast, blogs, videos, and other educational content takes time away from that work. Your support helps me continue putting out solid, science-based, positive-reinforcement dog training information.Support the podcast here:https://www.buzzsprout.com/1353841/supporters/newAnimal welfare is under enormous pressure.Shelters are full. Rescues are full. Veterinarians are overwhelmed. Trainers are busy. And families continue bringing dogs home without always understanding how much time, money, training, socialization, and management may be required.In this episode, I look at the state of animal welfare in 2025 from several different directions—not to point fingers, but to ask a more useful question:How can we do better?People usually get dogs with good intentions. But emotional decisions can quickly collide with reality. Puppies need potty training, crate training, socialization, structure, and enormous consistency. Adolescent dogs come with their own challenges. Rescue dogs may arrive with behavioral histories nobody fully understands.At the same time, shelters and foster-based rescues are trying to create space for the next dog coming through the door. Veterinarians are handling both medical and behavioral concerns. Trainers are often brought in only after the situation has already started falling apart.The common thread is that we tend to be reactive instead of proactive.Maybe more people should talk with a trainer before getting a dog. Maybe shelters, trainers, and veterinarians need to work together more closely on education. And maybe some people need to hear that waiting—or fostering instead of adopting—is actually the responsible choice.There are no perfect dogs, perfect owners, perfect shelters, perfect veterinarians, or perfect trainers. We cannot guarantee outcomes.What we can do is manage, modify, improve, educate, and prepare.Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeSo You Want a Dog, WTF?https://kissdogtraining.com/product/wtf-book/This book is designed to help people understand the real responsibilities, routines, costs, time commitments, and lifestyle changes involved in bringing home a dog.Meet Your Dog — Kim Bropheyhttps://meetyourdogbook.com/A deeper look at how learning, environment, genetics, and the individual dog all contribute to behavior.K.I.S.S. Dog Training Puppy Socialization Checklisthttps://kissdogtraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Puppy-Socialization-Checklist-1.pdfThe checklist contains more than 150 experiences designed to help owners positively expose puppies to people, places, sounds, surfaces, objects, and other parts of the world during the critical socialization period.If you can help your local rescue by fostering, volunteering, donating, or simply helping educate somebody before they bring home a dog, please do it.Reducing relinquishment starts long before a dog is returned to a shelter.K.I.S.S. Dog TrainingDog Training Ain’t Cheap... Experience Counts.https://kissdogtraining.com/If you found this episode helpful, please take a minute to leave a review. Reviews are one of the best ways to help other dog owners find the podcast. Follow the show so you do not miss future episodes, and share this one with a trainer, veterinarian, rescue volunteer, foster, or somebody thinking about bringing home a dog.Support the showMike Deathe owns Keep it Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.) Dog training. We can be reached through comments here, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kissdogtraining. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedeathe/, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mikedeathekissdogtraining/.  And of course at our website https://kissdogtraining.com/