Introducing Off Lead, a new series on Just a Dog Podcast. Every second Monday, its just me, thinking out loud about what I’ve been noticing about dogs, and humans.In this episode, I explain why I’m doing it, then read my essay, Hello, Maggie, about the bulldog who lives downstairs. She meets me on the stairs with a whole-body wag, and I love seeing her. But my heart aches every time I pass by her door.
In this episode of Just a Dog Podcast, I'm sharing the first Off Lead, a new series where I share my observations and thinking about dogs. Sometimes it's something I've written, sometimes it's a news story that caught my attention.This first Off Lead is an essay about Maggie, the bulldog who lives in my building. She meets me on the stairs with a whole-body wag, and I love seeing her. But my heart aches every time I pass her door.In this episode:

• What Off Lead is, and why I'm making it
• Meet Maggie, the bulldog downstairs
• Shiny floors and a dog's grip on the world
• Stairs, short legs and a heavy body
• How the fragrances we love might feel to a dog's nose
• The wrinkles, eyes and breathing that come with a flat face
• What love can reach, and what it can't

Key takeaways:

• A dog's sense of smell is far stronger than ours, so a scent we find faint can be overwhelming to them.
• Smooth floors like laminate give dogs very little grip, which can strain their joints.
• Flat-faced dogs like bulldogs can struggle to breathe, and extra weight makes it harder.
• Skin folds need regular cleaning to stay healthy.
• Loving a dog and seeing what life is like for them are two different things.