Tony and I just celebrated our 5 year anniversary (woot, woot) so we thought it would be a great idea to have him on the podcast for the first time.

We had a great chat about moving in with someone who's never had dogs before, because spoiler alert.. Tony met me when I already had THREE dogs and he's never had one of his own before.

So we go all over the place in this one and really chat about a lot of different living situations. So whether you live with your boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, friend, family, whoever.. this ones for you as long as a dog (or five) are involved haha.

Here's a list of some of the things we chat about. Make sure to tune in for all the good stuff:

• Our personal story and how we navigated living together with so many pets early on.
• Uncomfortable conversations to have with partners or roomies that can help with bringing a dog along.
• How finances can make things messy when you have someone who spends too much or too little on the dog.
• Several house rules and safety tips that can be discussed with partners, roomies and guests.

• How to deal with helicopter moms, paranoid or anxious dog parents and/or dog parents who are too chill about important things. 

• What to do if your partner is struggling to connect with the dog.
• How to address who's responsible for taking care of the dog during the work day.
• How to give people grace who are struggling with the transition.
• How to be on the same page when it comes to training, commands, and leadership.
• We have a funny chat about deal breakers and dating people who are in alignment with your dog values.
• How to avoid overwhelming or burdening your new roomie with all of the new pet responsibilities.
• The ins and outs of non dog friendly housing and some insider tips to get around it (see resources below)
• Plus, lots of talk about compromising and finding a new way to raise your dog that works for the both of you.

Resources Mentioned:

Emotional Support Animal Letter for Housing --> email me after you've applied so I can let them know you're with me ;)

My recent episode on the Wife of the Party Podcast all about my adoption experience.

Courtney's Links:

More episodes of the Thank Dog It's Friday Podcast

Dog Squad LA's Instagram & Facebook

Courtney's Personal Instagram

Courtney's online program The Dog Parent Experience

--> Next Episode: Friday, February 7th