25 MarEpisode 198 | Best Pet Ever: Comedian (and Scottie lover) Douglas Widick on being a “Big Man [With A] Tiny Dog”
Annie recently received an email from a producer who had a request: Were there any School For The Dogs students who were big men with tiny dogs? Or people who had big dogs who wouldn't mind their dogs being humorously mocked on Youtube?
The request came via Douglas Widick, a Brooklynite who had recently brought his young Scottie, Skye, in for playtimes at School For The Dogs. A musical comedian, he'd written a song and was casting its music video. The song's title was "Big Man, Tiny Dog."
Annie called Doug to talk about the origin of a song that pitches woo to the Yorkiepoos of the world while also poking fun at men who seem to use big dogs as accessories to accentuate their own toughness. Their fun conversation touches on everything from being inspired by the Notorious BIG, swimming with dolphins, Dorothy's poor dog training abilities in The Wizard of Oz, dog-fostering tourism in Hawaii, and the joy of using a hands-free leash.
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Mentioned in this episode:
The Found My Animal hands-free leash
Annie's Reel walking with a hands-free leash on Instagram
Transcript:
Douglas Widick:
I was watching the Notorious B I G documentary. And he talked about how he was like, “People told me that like certain lyrics were either too intense or whatever on this album, but I'm just writing my truth.” And I was like, oh, is it that simple? Like, he's just writing his truth. He had a song called, Ready to Die, which was about feeling suicidal. And I was like, okay, well, my truth right now is that I'm a big guy with a puppy. [laughs]
[music]
Annie:
A few weeks ago, our client Douglas Widick got in touch with me to ask if I could help him cast a video he was doing a music video to go with a song he had just written. The song, he told me, was called “Big Man, Tiny Dog.” And I heard the song. I thought it was hilarious, just so witty and well written. And I said, of course, we'd be happy to help you.
The music video and the song just dropped this week. You can find it on our Instagram @SchoolForTheDogs. I'll also link to it in the show notes. The video features his dog Sky who has come to our puppy play times as well as our Great Dane student Bandit, who came to us when he was just a tiny Great Dane pup. If there is such a thing. And Ripley, who is a Cairn Terrier puppy, her owners actually started coming to us with their late dog, Maggie, also a Scottie, back when we were in our E 2nd St studio.
After chatting a little bit with Doug, I was really curious to learn more about him. So I asked him if he would come on the podcast for the Best Pet Ever series. He agreed and you're about to hear our conversation. And he also composed a jingle for this series, so much thanks to his Sweet Tea Studio in Brooklyn, for what you are about to hear.
[Best Pet Ever music]
Douglas Widick:
Can you hear her chewing in the background?
Annie:
[Laughs] What is she chewing?
Douglas:
It's a pork knuckle. It's a big bone. Should I move her upstairs?
Annie:
No, no, no, it sounds fine. [laughs] Douglas Widick. So glad to have you here. Yeah, as a dog owner, as a client, as an artist, as a comedian. As someone who I am curious to learn more about. Douglas, why don't you introduce yourself and then maybe you can tell us a few words about Sky, your pup.
Douglas:
Yeah, surely. So, hi, I'm Doug. I go by Douglas Widick, professionally. And yeah, I'm a musical comedian based in Brooklyn, New York. I also produce music and mix music on the side and produce a show called North Coast that I also perform in. I'm a co-founding member of North Coast. We've been around in the city for almost 13 years. And we do hip hop improv comedy, but I also release musical sketch comedy all the time. And I've been doing that for like, I don't know, 10 years.
And I was a performer at Upright Citizens Brigade before it closed. And I was a performer at The Pit before their 24th street location closed. And now North Coast performs at the Asylum once a month. Super fun stuff. So, yeah, that's my main stuff is I do musical comedy, hip hop, improv. And I also do a show with one of the Real Housewives called Sonya in your City.
Annie:
I feel like I would like us to be friends. [laughs]
Douglas:
We should be friends, especially after how silly your and jaunty your little walk was on that Instagram reel. I was LOL-ing for the rest of the day.
It's funny, ‘cause it made me laugh too, cause it was like me at my goofiest. For those listening, he's referring to a little reel idea where I'm wearing my, where I'm wearing this big black poofy jacket, and I'm walking my dog, and I have a bright yellow leash tied around my waist. And I was just walking very seriously with funny music.
Douglas:
It cracked me up and I started tying her leash to the fanny pack, which totally opened me up for better training while we walk, and you know, I have more control now.
Annie:
Isn't it such a game changer? I forget sometimes to hook my dog around my leash. I mean hook the leash around my waist, and then suddenly I remember, and it feels like I just, I mean you do get another hand.
I love that you're a musical comedian. Is that something when you were growing up? Were – I mean, I love it because as regular listeners of this podcast might know, I love movie musicals in particular. And I also love like silly songs. I was really into Tom Lehrer when I was a kid,
Douglas:
Tom Lehrer. I feel like I heard some Tom Lehrer. Was he doing like standup mixed with music?
Annie:
I mean he's like from the, gosh, I don't know, fifties, maybe? I actually sang in a recital once, one of his tunes, I'm gonna sing it for you right now. A little bit of it.
Douglas:
Right here we go.
Annie:
[singing] All the world seems in tune on a spring afternoon when we’re poisoning pigeons in the park. Every Sunday day, you'll see my sweetheart and me as we poison the pigeons in the park. When they see us coming, the birdies all try and hide, but they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide.
Douglas:
Oh my gosh.
Annie:
He did the elements song, you know that one?
Douglas:
Well, I've definitely heard Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. That's fantastic
Annie:
Was Weird Al someone you were into? Like, I don't know. How do you decide that's what you wanna do when you grow up?
Douglas:
Right. Yeah. Well, it was a very natural process. I was obsessed with musical comedy growing up, but I didn't fully make the decision until later. So I studied guitar very diligently from the ages of like 7 til 17. Then I at the same time was obsessed with Tenacious D. I loved Weird Al, Adam Sandler's comedy albums. Pretty much anytime someone would mix music and comedy, I would go, Ooh, that, that, I like that. You know when Jimmy Fallon got on SNL, my mind was blown. Lonely Island was an obsession. And so I always wanted to mix the two.
And when I started studying sketch comedy at UCB, I was like, oh, maybe this will be something that can help me carve out a niche for myself. Instead of just being like another white dude doing comedy, maybe I can be musical and that'll help me be different and also original in certain ways. And I think I have something to contribute musically as well.
So I got really into free styling. And North Coast got founded when I was very young. My hip hop improv group. Yeah, I guess the decision really did happen more as I got obsessed with UCB when I was younger. And you, have you ever been to UCB Annie?
Annie:
Yeah. Yeah. We actually used to be located on E 2nd and Avenue A, so right around the corner.
Douglas:
Okay. Yeah. So you were right by the Beast. That's what they called that one.
Annie:
Oh, okay.
Douglas:
The UCB East, the Beast. And so I think that the thing that fully hammered it was, I was a member of a sketch group with a bunch of folks that are actually crushing it in entertainment now, Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Sudi Green. Tessa Skara. And we were called Pop Roulette and we did musical sketch comedy. And that's when I was like, oh, okay. I think this is like what I do, is musical comedy. That's when it like fully hammered home, when I was like 22 or 23.
Annie:
That's so cool. All right. Now how does dogs factor into any of this?
Douglas:
[laughs] All right. It's a dogs podcast. So I had my first Scottie when I was four years old and her name was Kelly and I fell madly in love with Scottish terriers. And I don't know what it is, but once people find their breed or their type or–
Annie:
Well, your parents must have picked out Kelly.
Douglas:
Yeah. They picked out Kelly. My aunt had had a litter of Scotties and we just fell in love with her. She was the runt of the litter and we knew nothing. I mean, we knew nothing. She tore up our house as she was teething. We didn't know crate training. We were just learning as we went along, and Kelly for that reason was a saint because as she got older, she chilled out. But when she was a puppy, she must have been extremely confused about us and how we were raising her. She was probably like, I don't know where my home is in the home, because we just let her sleep wherever cause we didn't know.
And then as we got smarter and more savvy and learned more, after Kelly passed, we got more Scotties and we were madly in love with that crew, that group. That was the, Maggie, Cody and Brooklyn were their names. And Maggie was just all sweetness. Cody was like extremely regal. He kind of looked like Teddy Roosevelt. And Brooklyn was another slightly runtish little cutie.
Annie:
Aw. And so you had three at the same time?
Douglas:
At one point we actually had four terries in the house. We had Rusty at one point.
Annie:
You said your family's in Florida?
Douglas:
Mm-hmm south Florida. So we had a nice big lawn for them all to run around on and play.
Annie:
So a three dog household for a New Yorker sounds like a lot.
Douglas:
It would be, I think having one dog in New York has tested me to my very core. And so, I think that having a bunch of dogs here, since I'm a solo dog parent, I would need even more help if I had more dogs here. I do have a backyard though, which is a game changer, and I'm getting some Astroturf pet run put in next week. So that's gonna be a game changer too, cause she's always chewing on the mulch and it scares the crap outta me.
Annie:
Oh yeah. You're living the dream, and that's actually very smart to get the fake stuff.
Douglas:
Yeah, it'll be good for my mental health. [laughs]
Annie:
Well cause sometimes yeah, some dogs eating the stuff that blows into the yards, especially in New York City can make them sick.
Douglas:
Yeah. There's random junk all the time. I pretty much have to watch her like a hawk back there. She also digs holes, and my roommate gardens. So there's some issues with that. He'll be like, Um, so, you know, I have these plants that are actually seasonal and your dog just dug a big hole and ruined one of them. And I was like, oh, I'm sorry.
Annie:
You mean like, this is what she was meant to do in the world actually. Have you tried the iDig?
Douglas:
Oh right, there’s like scratch stuff, right? Or, I haven't seen iDig.
Annie:
The iDig is a cool product.. It is basically like a pit that they can dig stuff out of.
Douglas:
Ooh, I'm looking at it now.
Annie:
But you could also try – well, what else could you try? I mean, you could put stuff in a box, just like with towels, like layers of towels and stuff, treats and towels and treats. Like old towels I mean, not like good towels. Yeah. Rags. But yeah, terriers love to pull stuff apart. We call it a destruct-a-ball. You can wrap treats around, wrap rags around treats and then stuff the little wrapped treats into one of those open balls, a Hol-ee Roller, they're called. Anyway, I'm just giving you ideas that make her dig a little bit less, but…
Douglas:
I love that. Thank you so much.
Annie:
But yeah, it's a lot. Three dogs in New York City is different than three dogs in Florida with a yard.
Douglas:
Totally. Yeah. I would have to have daily, cause I have caretakers come in twice a week right now on a recurring schedule when I'm out and about. At the gym or stuff, like I don't want her home for too long without being let out. And so I would have to have even more kind of reoccurring help.
Annie:
Yeah. So how did your current cutie Sky come into your life?
Douglas:
So Sky's super dreamy. It had been two years since we lost our final Scottie, Maggie. She lived till 14, I think actually like deep into 13, but we kept seeing Scottish terriers in the clouds after we lost Maggie. And it was just so hard because yes, there's this newfound flexibility where you can travel without worrying about your dog. You know, you can just leave the house and not be thinking, but we missed our, we missed our Scotties so much. We're just a Scottie family.
So it had been a little too long. We were starting to get that itch and I was even emailing some of the rescue centers in New York like, can I come walk some dogs please? Like I just wanted to be around them. And it was also coinciding with a kind of challenging personal time for me. And so my mom did a little research and found a litter of scotties near my uncle in Plano. And I was like, well, that's a great excuse to visit my uncle.
And so I went and picked her up in Dallas. It was the head of the Scottish Terrier Association in Dallas. And she was a wonderful, wonderful woman. And she gave me all sorts of advice and stuff about the breed, and just super, super conscientious, wonderful person. And I flew her back to Brooklyn a day later. And she ran directly towards me out of the whole litter. She was the first one that ran towards me.
And I've learned so much more raising her solo, then when I was in high school, in college with the Scotties. Because there's no safety net, it's me. I'm the person training Sky. I'm the person raising Sky. It's not like I can ever be like, uh, I'm doing homework. Here you go, mom, here's the dog.
And so this process has taught me so much about animals and so much about pet parenting that I'm very grateful for. So it's definitely been a journey with little miss Sky. She's been on five flights and she's not even one years old yet.
Annie:
You've been to puppy play times at School For The Dogs. Is that right?
Douglas:
Yes. Oh my gosh. So fantastic. So I was keenly aware that she needed to start getting socialized, especially during the critical window. And she was super feisty. She was chewing on my shoes and ankles and stuff in the mornings. And I was like, okay, we need some bite inhibition here, ASAP. And so she played with a bunch of dogs at School For The Dogs, and Adam was just phenomenal. Shout outs to Adam Davis.
Annie:
Remind me how you found us again?
Douglas:
Oh, I found you through my vet.
Annie:
Were you asking your vet specifically for playtime recommendations or?
Douglas:
I was looking for playtime. I was looking for training, and the first business card, there was a couple that she handed me. But the first business card and highest recommended was y'all.
Annie:
What would you describe the puppy playtimes you came to? How would you describe it to someone who has no idea what a School For The Dogs puppy playtime looks like?
Douglas:
Well, it's a beautifully controlled atmosphere with an extremely highly knowledgeable person running it. And that person's not only managing the dogs, but they're managing the owners and educating the owners all at the same time. So I learned about meta signals, displacement signals. I just, I keenly watch my dogs behavior when she's interacting with other dogs so much differently now mm-hmm after those sessions.
And so when I do puppy play dates in my neighborhood now which I'm very lucky to be able to hold in my backyard. There's a Pomeranian and there's a golden that Sky plays with a lot. I'm very, very, very aware of when things are going well. And that I'm very aware if things are about to go south or if they need a break or anything like that. So School For The Dogs was able to educate while also helping Sky get that valuable socialization.
Annie:
Yeah. I think that really is what's so special about our puppy playtimes is that they're really classes. I mean, it's not just dump your dogs here, everybody sit on the perimeter and watch what happens. There's actually a professional trainer there who is helping you figure out what is and isn't okay. What to be looking for.
And so even if – exactly, like you said, like even if someone – cause some people balk at the price. It's $40 for a half hour, which, I mean in New York City, it feels like like everything's becoming so expensive that it doesn't –
Douglas:
Yeah. That's you and a friend for cocktails, right?
Annie:
Yeah. Yeah. It's sad, but true.
Douglas:
It's madness, inflation is madness.
Annie:
But what you're getting is really, you know, half an hour of time with a trainer who is going to make you a better informed referee when you go into situations with your dog after this. And you will learn things that you will now go and meet people who've had dogs and have no clue about. You're gonna now see things happening in play from having attended these sessions where you're gonna be like, oh gosh, like, do I tell them that maybe their dog is feeling uncomfortable?
Douglas:
Yeah. I actually actually have to manage that, because you know, you never want to be seen as helicoptering or policing other people's dogs. But if it affects my dog then I'm going to, I don't care.
Annie:
Right. Which is why I think it's another benefit of having someone in charge, in our case, a trainer at these sessions. It's because at the dog park, no one is allowed to pipe up and say, I know what's what.
But it even sounds like, you know, you said you're quote, unquote, running puppy playtimes in your yard. Maybe it's just your friends, but still, it sounds like you're the one who is having people over and kind of mediating it. And that's really smart if you're with people who are willing to listen to you, and follow your lead and not interject with possibly misguided information about how they're gonna work it out on their own.
Douglas:
Totally. Yeah.
Annie:
Did she meet some good friends at puppy play time?
Douglas:
Yeah, she met, the most successful interaction was with a German shepherd that – cause Sky’s super feisty. Scotties are just basically insatiable. The 30 minutes was far, far too short for Sky in terms of her like – I mean, who knows if the play would've devolved after that or whatever, but she was like, wait, it's over? Every single time.
Annie:
Aw. Yeah.
Douglas:
But she found a German shepherd that they played so well together. And there was lots of short pins, lots of you know, quick bites that were just a test. And I have footage from that that I still watch to this day cause she’s about half the size she is now.
Annie:
Aw. Well, yeah, 30 minutes, you know, it's the ideal time for what we do. But I think that, like I know my dog Poppy, she really needs like an hour with the dog for a good play time at least. Because like, I feel like it could take her 45 minutes to start feeling comfortable around other dogs and sort of relax into it.
Douglas:
Does Poppy need to be eased into the play?
Annie:
She needs to be eased into most things and then she's really into it. That's how I would put it, but yeah. Yeah. She plays really nicely when she does. Maybe Sky can have a playdate.
How old is she now?
Douglas:
Six months.
Annie:
So part of the reason I wanted to have you on was to talk about your hilarious new song, which, I was laughing out loud when I heard it. It is called Big Man, Tiny Dog.
[Big Man Tiny Dog plays]
Annie:
My favorite line is, You can put one dog in your bed. I could put 10 dogs in my bed!
Douglas:
Oh my gosh. That's based in truth. We used to have the Scotties sleep in our bed. Back in the day we had like three or four dogs in the bed at one time. Ridiculous.
Annie:
It's a really funny song.
Douglas:
Oh thank you.
Annie:
Now you're shooting a video to go with this hilarious song, and you're having some of the breeds, and some of those breeds I think are people you met through the School For The Dogs. Did some people contact you through our newsletter or was it from me saying, Hey, contact this guy.
Douglas:
Yeah, we got like four emails from your newsletter.
Annie:
Oh wow. Great.
Douglas:
Yeah, so that was fantastic. And we've been emailing with some of those folks and there was also a Brussels Griffon Facebook group that got wind of the video, and we ended up getting like four Brussels Griffons at once one day.
Annie:
Oh, is that part in the song? I don't remember.
Douglas:
No, but they're a small dog and so it actually will help us heighten, because if it's like, we're hitting jokes that aren't in the lyrics during the chorus when I'm just repeating big man, tiny dog, we can heighten by adding the Brussels Griffon.
Annie:
Ah.
Douglas:
Yeah, playing against the lyric a little bit, which could be satisfying only if it's later and you're craving something fresh. So we're gonna do like a mix of some of the Fish Island stuff that they used to do in early 2000s hip hop videos. So like, if you think about Busta Rhymes’ Gimme Some More, there's gonna be a lot of that within exterior shots at Sternberg park where I'm getting up in the camera.
And it's like, that's gonna be more during the part where I'm aggressive to the guy Chad with his big dog, so it'll be like, “I see a lot of men in Brooklyn,” like really close up and then later there's gonna be a lot of portraits with big man, big men and tiny dogs. So it'll be like big man, pan down, tiny dog. And it'll just be like contrast, contrast, contrast, like just hitting that contrast or over and over again. And hopefully that'll be comedic fodder.
Annie:
Yeah. I see a Big Man Tiny Dog calendar could be a thing.
Douglas:
Ooh. I like that idea. See, you're an entrepreneur and I love that. You're two steps ahead of me. So I need to do that.
Annie:
I mean, how do you judge big? I guess it depends on how small the dog is?
Douglas:
Yeah. I think that, you know, we're shooting for dogs that are like 20 pounds of under. And the men, you know, either tall or just, you know, larger men, but like any guy who's like 5’8”, and under probably wouldn't work for this.
And so, I'm casting a very kind of cool bro looking dude for the Chad role. Because, it's like, even when I was on vacation recently, I meet people who almost use their dog – it's like a pair of sneakers to them. It's like, yo, look at my dog, look how cool I am. And it's like, no, the dog's not an accessory. Like, it's an animal! I don't know. And it just cracks me up that they use it as like a pair of Adidas. It's like, look at my giant mean looking dog. It's like, first off, it doesn't need to have that crazy leash you have on it. Second off, like –
Annie:
What do you mean crazy leash?
Douglas:
Oh, like the metal ones that you see, you know, the ones that choke and stuff
Annie:
Okay.
Douglas:
And so, you know, you see people who are sort of like walking with it, like, Hey, don't get near me. Look how tough I am with my dog. And it's just like, it doesn't, I don't think it has to be that way. I think it can be more of a companion thing.
Annie:
It's so interesting because on the one hand, your song seems kind of like it's, you know, having a tiny dog, tiny dogs are often thought of as accessories. Pocketbook dogs, the teacups, you know, dogs that people think don't need training, because they're just meant to sit on your lap. But actually you're saying this song is kind of against an approach to pet ownership that is not about your pet's best interest necessarily, but more about using your or pet to accentuate certain features of yourself.
Douglas:
Yeah. I think I couldn't have put it better myself. I sort of – like when I was on a vacation, one of the tour guys had a bunch of the same breed that he was like, they were getting in fights and he like showed me photos. And I was just like, this isn't cool that you're telling me this. And I don't wanna know that your dogs got in a big, crazy fight and that you're like, I don't know. I think that you could be right, that I'm playing the same card they’re playing, but with the tiny dog. But my card is more ridiculous. And so I'm gonna self own my ridiculous card of me being a big man with a little yip dog.
Annie:
I would say that you could have a big dog or a small dog and approach being the owner, parent, guardian, whatever word you wanna use, to that dog in a certain way that is really about enjoying giving that animal a good life within the environment that you live, let's say. And if you're truly doing that, it doesn't – the weight of your dog, the size of the dog, even the breed of your dog doesn't matter that much.
But what you're saying is, is you're mocking – I think you're if I had to deconstruct it, you're mocking the other extreme of pet ownership by specifically pointing out like the big dudes who have their like dog version of their midlife crisis car.
Douglas:
Yep. Sometimes it's not even that big of dudes. Sometimes it's like dudes who are like, don't look at me cuz I'm, you know, maybe there's like a Napoleonic thing or whatever. And it's like, look at this giant dog instead of me or whatever.
Annie:
Yeah. It's funny because I feel like I live in an area where I almost only see just like doodles. I'm looking out the window now. I can see like four different doodle type dogs.
Douglas:
Oh my God. The amount of golden doodles on the street is absolutely fascinating. I see mini aussies all the time.
Annie:
Yeah. There, we have a lot of mini aussies, but probably doodle – I haven't looked at the stats, but I would say the majority of our clients are probably some kind of poodle mix. And then we also have a lot of Frenchies. And then of course we have a lot of the Heinz 57 type rescue dogs, like my dog. But I love the Toto reference also in the song.
Douglas:
Thank you. We're gonna use that cairn you recommended for it.
Annie:
Oh, excellent. Ripley. Who, his people had – actually it's a girl. Ripley's owners, they used to have Maggie Mae who was a Scottie.
Douglas:
Oh my goodness. I think, you know what? I think they mentioned that in the email and I forgot. Yeah.
Annie:
I have recently rewatched the Wizard of Oz seven times, because I have a three year old, but every time I see it, I'm reminded that it's really a story of a family in need of a dog trainer, because it starts out with Toto going after the mean Miss Gulch. And then Miss Gulch says she's gonna take Toto. And then she takes Toto away in the basket, and Dorothy gets all upset and then Toto runs back. And then so the whole story, and then that plot line kind of gets lost from there,
Douglas:
All they needed to do was cue it down.
Annie:
All they needed was to put up an ex pen.
Douglas:
[laughs] Exactly.
Annie:
There's no song about that yet. But yeah, and my dad always used to call my little Yorkie poo Amos, who was the love of my life. My dad used to always say, how is Toto? Made me think of that too.
Douglas”
I've found that most people don't know Toto was a Cairn terrier. Most people think Toto was either a Scottie or some other of, I think a York, a Yorkshire terrier.
Annie:
Oh, huh. Yeah. Cairns are not that well known. And I'm trying to think of the other lyrics that really, that my dog wears a bell [laughs].
Douglas:
Yeah, she does. Sky does wear a bell.
Annie:
Really?
Douglas:
Yeah. She has a little plaid collar and it has a tiny bell on it. That's where I got the lyric from. So she kind of jingles into the room. But don't worry. I use a harness when we're outside. But yeah, and like, she barks, but it's more of a yip. Like a lot of this is based in truth. Yeah. A lot of these lyrics are very much reveals.
Annie:
So I'm wondering if you're gonna continue in this direction and what your next pet related song is gonna be.
Douglas:
That's such a great question. Oh man. I'll have to think about it. I definitely have a couple very, very humiliating songs I sing directly to Sky, but potentially after a glass of wine, where it's just me and her and I sing to her songs about her. So those are some that might not make the album.
Annie:
Oh, give me, give me, give me a tiny taste of one.
Douglas:
All right. So this song, I sing to Sky all the time. I go, I used to be a wolf, but now I'm a baby, a beautiful baby dog. And I sing that all the time to her.
Annie:
[laughs] That's – I love it. You gotta do more.
Douglas:
Thank you. Maybe I’ll make a whole pet sounds album, but it'll be –
Annie:
Pet Sounds. [laughing]
Douglas:
Yeah. And I also neglected to mention, my brother is an animal trainer.
Annie:
Oh!
Douglas:
He worked for years with marine mammals, rehabilitated ones. And he inspired a lot of my training journey.
Annie:
Where does he train now? Or what does he train?
Douglas:
So he's raising his daughter now and his partner still works with a rehabilitated marine life, but he has a beautiful year old German Shepherd, which is nearing the end of her days, who is immaculately trained. And inspired me trying to get my crap together with Sky.
Annie:
Marine mammal training. There is a place where you cannot use choke collars.
Douglas:
No aversives with a dolphin.
Annie:
No.
Douglas:
No, it's all just, oh, capture it, capture it. And they have these little whistles that are extremely high frequency. This amazing stuff.
Annie:
Although, you know, they often reward the male dolphins with access to female dolphins. Which is not a training technique we tend to use with the dogs.
Douglas:
No, I would say no. And the dolphins are just reckless. It's like Berlin, you know, they're just, they go ham every day.
Annie:
So have you gotten to swim with dolphins?
Douglas:
I have had interactions with dolphins. I have not been in the water since I was very little with a dolphin. I would swim in The Bahamas with wild and domesticated dolphins when I was little. The wild ones are super fun when you're like snorkeling and they just come up and they're just like, sup!
Annie:
Wow. Wow.
Douglas:
Yeah. We had like those, have you ever seen those little jets that you hold as you're snorkeling? So you could go down close to the reef and then go back up.
Annie:
No, no.
Douglas:
They're like these little propeller things that help you keep it moving while you're snorkeling and the dolphins you could, they were just like whirling around us. It's definitely a beautiful experience.
Annie:
Wow. You make Florida sound like an appealing place.
Douglas:
Yeah, right? Yeah. Besides the anti-vax and the anti mask and the chaos and the weapons everyone's carrying, besides all that, Florida's pretty great.
Annie:
And the dudes with their dogs trying to make the dogs make them look tough.
Douglas:
Yep. Exactly. They roll deep with their guard dogs. I don't wanna call out any breeds specifically.
Annie:
But the truth is you don't have to go to Florida to find that.
Douglas:
Oh it's down the block for me. I see it all the time. And don't get me started on the people who don't think they need leashes in my neighborhood. It absolutely drives me up the wall.
Annie:
Yep. I'm with you there.
Well, Doug, it has been so fun to talk to you. You know, one thing I wanted to ask you about was you had mentioned to me that you recently did some – how should we put it, dog volunteer tourism?
Douglas:
So I went to Maui for six days alone. So it was like my own personal Forgetting Sarah Marshall trip. But without any Mila Kunis hotness or any steamy Eat Pray Love vibes. It was just me, surfing lessons and a helicopter tour. ButI decided, I was like, I miss Sky. I'm gonna go find a way to see a dog or two while I'm here. And so the Maui Humane Society. Woo, woo! They have this thing called beach buddies where you can day foster from 11 to 4 a dog and take it to the beach.
So I spent the day with Gus and Gus was a gorgeous herding dog mix. And it was a magical dog experience, but all the way far off into tropical paradise.
Annie:
Aw. And you weren't compelled to bring Gus home?
Douglas:
I was, but the logistics scared me of flying that far with Gus. I really was. I actually have checked in twice and they're just so busy there they haven't gotten back to me.
Annie:
That's such a neat thing that they do.
Douglas:
It's super neat.
Annie:
How big was Gus?
Douglas:
Gus was like 40 pounds or 50 pounds. Like definitely mostly border collie. Wicked smart, had already been trained by somebody. I think the owner got sick. The parent or the owner got sick. And so Gus was six years old. Super, super well behaved.
Annie:
What’s the wisest thing your brother has told you about animal training?
Douglas:
Oh my gosh. You're gonna love this. Hopefully. You need to set your dog up for success. Like it all comes back to that. He was like, if you set them up for success, then you're doing way more than so many other pet guardians.
Annie:
Yeah. Well, I think that's what I generally call management, like creating the situation where you're gonna get what you want. Because you control the outlines of your dog's life by and large.
Douglas:
Yeah. And yeah, that's beautiful. And like one of my big revelations lately has been like finding ways to use things that aren't just treats as rewards. Like the walk itself, like sniffs, like, Hey, go take a sniff of that thing. But instead I'll be like, make sure she checks in with me then click and then you get to go sniff that so that it's maintaining the connection with her on the walk. Things like that have been big breakthroughs for me lately.
[music]
You can learn more about Douglas and his group North Coast and his production company, Sweet Tea Studios that created our new best pet ever jingle at douglaswidick.com. Visit us on Instagram to see Big Man Tiny Dog. I'm also linking to it in the show notes.
Lastly, a reminder that for podcast listeners, we have a special we're running right now where you can get a 90 minute private virtual session with a School For The Dogs trainer for free when you purchase our Good Dog Training and our Dog Training in 21 Days on demand courses. Get it through the end of this month at schoolforthedogs.com/virtualbundle.
