Pet peeves

A new podcast by canine behaviourist Shirin Merchant explores doggie behaviour with tips for pet parents. We invited a seasoned and a first-time dog parent to rate it

Good focus; needs specific content
Neha Rajadhyaksha, 33, founder, Friends of Fluff

Shirin Merchant

I was excited to listen to Shirin’s podcast as she is a big name in the field. I have parented several dogs for more than a decade now, and I look up to her. In terms of the content, I thought she explored excellent topics and shared very useful information. I particularly liked her Diwali episodes. A lot of people tell me to ignore my two-year old pup Dodo when he feels unsettled by firecrackers — Shirin’s approach is a compassionate one. She recommends comforting your dog, which I resonate with. I also appreciate that she spent time on basic tips, often overlooked by other experts, such as attaching a tag to your dog’s collar with contact information in case of emergencies. She also explores different scenarios and shares some great examples, which make the content relatable and easy to understand. 
My only criticism would be the production. With podcasts, I prefer to listen while driving or multi-tasking. The episodes cut off abruptly, so unless you are looking at your screen, it’s hard to determine where one episode ends and where the next begins. There’s also no structure to the episodes — for instance, it would have helped if the two episodes about toys were consecutive and if she spent some time on sharing practical information, such as brands to buy. Also, when guests come on, an introduction would be nice. Unless you read the caption, you are unaware of who the speaker is. Some music and sound effects could make for more engaging episodes, especially for beginners. In some recent episodes, she shares the topic to be discussed in the next episode — this helps; if the speakers are discussing a topic I am already familiar with or not too keen on, I can skip it and move on to the next.

Very confusing for a first timer
Chirag Chauhan, 34, entrepreneur

For someone who is new to the dog-parent ecosystem (I adopted Coco less than a year ago), there are several concepts that I am not very well-versed with. I was eager to learn more about the types of toys I should invest in — however, the way these were discussed in the show was confusing. For instance, she mentioned snuffle mats and how helpful they are, and only gets to what these mats actually are much later in the episode. So, unless you’re willing to pause the podcast to do some background research, it can be difficult to keep up. I also wish she’d explore the differences in the behaviour of different breeds, such as Labradors and indie dogs, for instance. While I’m sure the content was very relevant and useful, I unfortunately lost interest in it after listening to a few episodes.

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