Vanessa Woods is the Director of Duke University’s Puppy Kindergarten program, which studies what qualities are important in becoming a great service dog. The program is funded by the National Institute of Health and works with puppies from Canine Companions, the largest service dog provider in the United States. While this is primarily intended to learn what makes the best service dogs, it has also been informative about all dogs.

Her husband, Brian Hare, is the Founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, the first academic program dedicated to studying dogs in the country. Together they co-wrote a new book, called Puppy Kindergarten, where they take the valuable lessons learned from their years of research studying service dogs as the ideal model for how dogs live with us in today's culture. They share tips, activity ideas, and more insights on for all dog parents raising puppies.Their goal is to help everyone develop a happier and healthier relationship with their dogs from a young age, which carries on throughout the rest of their lives.

For more information about the episode, guest, and featured links: www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/vanessa-woods-2024

PART TWO - One of the most hot-button discussions in Turkey is how street dogs impact everyday citizens. Most people in cities like Istanbul are used to it, with a long tradition of living alongside them. However, in peripheral areas, there is not always as much support. When government municipalities started to push strays from city centers to outside suburban and rural areas, out of their natural environment, there have been a relatively small number of attacks and accidents. These have reportedly been sensationalized in the media, making it seem like a bigger phenomenon, and said to be weaponized by the government to instill fear.

With the Turkish parliament passing the so-called ‘massacre law’ in July 2024, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government positioned it as a way to protect civilians from these stray dogs. However, in reality, this will be used as a way to significantly harm many strays. Animal rights activists have tried to present alternate solutions or volunteer their time and services, but so far the government has closed the door on that dialogue.

In the second episode of this two-part series, we spoke to local guests about how much stray dogs would be missed from the streets and how the government should embrace the passionate and hard-working animal rights community to reach a better solution that still addresses the overpopulation problem while going about it safely and humanely.

Guest experts featured, in order, include Ahmet Senpolat (HAYTAP, Animal Rights Federation), Nazlan Ertan (journalist), Lisanne Hillen (Melez Dog Rescue), and Elizabeth Lo (filmmaker).

For more information about the episode, guests, and featured links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/turkey-stray-dog-dilemma-2024-pt-2

The Turkish Parliament passed new legislation this summer that aims to remove all stray dogs from the streets by 2028, as these dogs are labeled by the government dangerous and causing harm to humans. This is a significant shift in policy in a country where street dogs have been embedded and accepted into its culture for centuries. Turkish animal welfare groups say in reality there are very few deadly dog attacks, but social media sensationalization and politicization of incidents have complicated debates. While everyone agrees there needs to be better plans to manage the country’s dog overpopulation, there is conflict on how to handle it. Animal advocates argue the 100,000 capacity in current shelters cannot humanely accommodate an estimated four million street dogs, calling the new stray dog legislation the “massacre law.”

In the first episode of this two-part series, we explore the unique culture tradition of stray dogs living in Turkey, and discuss the problems and challenges around this new stray dog removal law.

We spoke to several guest experts about their perspective on Turkey’s stray dog dilemma with the new law. Guests include Elizabeth Lo (filmmaker), Nazlan Ertan (journalist), Lisanne Hillen (Melez Dog Rescue), and Ahmet Senpolat (HAYTAP, Animal Rights Federation).

For more information about the episode, guests, and featured links: www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/turkey-stray-dog-dilemma-2024-pt-1