If one of my articles simply appeared in your Substack feed because the title sounded like something going on with your dog, welcome.
You may have no idea who I am, what The Well Oiled K9 is, or why I keep talking about a membership.
So let me start there.
The Well Oiled K9 Membership Is Not a Paid Newsletter
Substack is simply one way I communicate.
The Well Oiled K9 Membership is a much larger education, resource and support program for dog parents who want to understand their dogs better, make more informed decisions and have a reliable place to turn when the next question comes up.
And with dogs, there is always a next question.
Who Am I — And Why Am I Teaching This?
I’m Dana Brigman, a Certified Holistic Pet Health Coach and canine nutritionist (Cert.CN), and I’ve spent more than a decade working professionally with dogs and their people.
My work actually started heavily on the behavior and training side, but over the years it became impossible for me to separate behavior from what was happening physically in the dog.
Food matters. Digestion matters. Pain matters. Hormones, stress, sleep, the nervous system and environment matter.
What we put in, on and around our dogs matters too.
That led me deeper into canine nutrition, fresh feeding, aromatherapy, herbs, homeopathy, Reiki and other complementary approaches to canine wellness.
Today, I look at the whole dog.
Your dog.
That may mean improving the food bowl, supporting an aging dog, understanding allergies or digestive problems, learning how to use natural remedies more confidently, navigating a chronic health diagnosis or recognizing that an anxious or reactive dog may have more going on than a training problem.
I don’t believe every dog needs a complicated protocol and twelve supplements.
I also don’t believe every question should end with, “Ask your vet,” with no further education or explanation.
Veterinary care matters.
So does understanding your own dog well enough to notice changes, ask better questions and make thoughtful decisions.
That middle ground is where much of my work lives.
Why I Built The Membership
I kept watching dog parents get good information, use it successfully…and then end up right back at square one when the next issue came along.
The dog stopped eating.
Diarrhea showed up.
An allergy flare started.
The senior dog suddenly seemed different.
A new supplement was recommended.
A lab value changed.
Someone wanted to improve the diet or learn how to use essential oils, herbs or homeopathy.
And back to Google or Facebook they went.
Google can give you 4,000 answers, three sponsored products and six new reasons to panic before breakfast.
Facebook can be even worse.
Ask one dog question in a large group and by lunchtime someone has told you to change the food, never change the food, give pumpkin, never give pumpkin, fire your veterinarian, buy seven supplements…and occasionally what a terrible dog mom you are for not already knowing all of this. 😂
I wanted to build something more useful than that.
A place where you can learn.
A place where you can come back when something changes.
A place where the information builds on itself instead of starting over every single time.
And a community of dog moms who are trying to do many of the same things you are:
Help their dogs eat better, feel better and live longer.
What Do We Talk About?
A lot.
Because dogs rarely present us with one neat little problem living in its own box.
Inside the membership you’ll find education and resources around:
Nutrition & Fresh Food — improving the bowl, homemade and fresh feeding, ingredients, protein rotation, fats, hydration and feeding through different stages of life.
Natural Remedies — essential oils, herbs, homeopathy, botanicals and understanding when different types of support may make sense.
Digestive Health — diarrhea, reflux, nausea, appetite problems, food sensitivities, elimination diets and recurring GI problems.
Chronic Health Concerns — education and supportive strategies around conditions involving the kidneys, liver, pancreas, thyroid, heart, skin, immune system and more.
Senior Dogs & Longevity — mobility, cognition, nutrition, prevention and keeping older dogs comfortable, engaged and participating in life.
Behavior & The Whole Dog — anxiety, fear, reactivity, stress, nervous-system health and the physical pieces that can influence behavior.
Seasonal Wellness — parasites, environmental exposures, lymphatic support, seasonal detoxification, immune support and proactive care throughout the year.
First Aid & Everyday Questions — including learning what belongs in the watch it, support it, schedule an appointment or get to the vet now category.
The goal isn’t for you to memorize protocols.
The goal is for you to become much better at understanding your own dog.
So What Do Members Actually Get?
This is where the membership is very different from simply subscribing to a newsletter.
Your Private Member Resource Library
The member area at WellOiledK9.com is the heart of the membership.
This is where you’ll find the material that deserves more than a Facebook post:
Guides. Protocols. Classes. Educational articles. Seasonal resources. Troubleshooting information.
It is designed to become the place you check first when something comes up with your dog.
And yes, there’s a lot in there.
You don’t have to learn it all at once.
Part of my job is helping you figure out which information actually applies to the dog standing in front of you.
Live Member Classes & Sessions
Rather than holding meetings just for the sake of having another meeting on everybody’s calendar, I’m using our live time to actually teach.
Classes and live sessions focus on subjects members repeatedly need help understanding: nutrition, homemade food, allergies, natural remedies, senior dogs, chronic conditions, seasonal wellness and other practical topics.
When a live session is held, it is recorded and made available to members so you don’t have to rearrange your life every time I turn on Zoom.
Guides & Protocols
Members have access to an expanding collection of practical guides and protocols that you can return to again and again.
I don’t want you digging through six months of Facebook comments trying to remember what I once said about lymphatics, elimination diets or senior support.
Important information needs a permanent home.
That’s what the resource library is for.
The Remedies Class
My Remedies Class teaches you how I think about essential oils, herbs, homeopathy, natural first aid and building a useful home wellness toolkit.
The Homemade Food Class
The Homemade Food Class teaches you how to think about fresh feeding and balanced homemade food instead of handing you one recipe and pretending your dog should eat it forever.
Annual members receive both complete classes as part of their membership.
Private Member Conversation & Questions
Members also have private places to ask general questions and participate in conversation with me and other members.
You can use the paid-member Facebook group if Facebook is where you’re most comfortable.
If Facebook makes you want to throw your phone into the ocean — I understand 😂 — you can use the private Well Oiled K9 community instead.
The important distinction is that these are member spaces.
My public Holistic Dogs group and public social-media pages are educational spaces for a much larger audience. They are not where I provide individualized dosing, protocols or ongoing guidance.
Membership gives us an actual relationship and a much more appropriate place for those conversations.
What Membership Is NOT
This part matters.
The membership provides education, resources, community and group-level support.
It is not unlimited private consulting.
It does not replace an individualized consultation when your dog needs custom diet formulation, extensive history review, detailed lab interpretation, individualized protocols or ongoing case management.
And it is certainly not emergency veterinary care.
Sometimes your question will have a very straightforward answer.
Sometimes I’ll point you directly to a guide, class or protocol.
Sometimes we’ll talk through it in the member community.
And sometimes I am going to tell you:
“This needs more than a membership answer.”
That’s not me brushing you off.
That’s me recognizing that your dog deserves more than an educated guess based on three sentences in a Facebook comment.
Private consultations are available when that deeper level of support is needed, and members receive preferred pricing on eligible services.
You Don’t Have To Be “Super Holistic”
You do not need to arrive feeding a perfectly balanced raw diet from a stainless-steel bowl while diffusing Frankincense and growing medicinal herbs in the backyard. 😂
Some members have been immersed in holistic wellness for years.
Some are just beginning.
Some feed raw or gently cooked food.
Some are trying to improve the kibble bowl they feed today.
Some use herbs, essential oils and homeopathy regularly.
Others are trying to figure out what the heck all three even are.
Some are managing significant chronic health issues.
Others have healthy dogs and want to keep them that way.
There is no purity test at the door.
My approach is food-first, whole-dog and lower-tox.
I like fresh food.
I use essential oils, herbs, homeopathy and other complementary modalities.
I think prevention deserves far more attention than it normally receives.
But I also live in the real world.
You start where you are.
Then we learn what makes sense to do next.
So Where Does Substack Fit Now?
Substack is one of my communication channels.
You’ll still find public articles and occasional member communication here, and you can follow along if this is the platform you enjoy using.
But you do not need Substack to be a Well Oiled K9 member.
Membership now lives directly through WellOiledK9.com.
That’s intentional.
Your membership shouldn’t disappear into a social-media feed.
Your classes, guides, protocols and important resources need a permanent home where you can actually find them again.
The website is that home.
The private communities give us the conversation.
Our live sessions give us the opportunity to go deeper.
And Substack gives me another way to reach people who want to read what I’m teaching.
They all serve different purposes.
Why Join?
Because chances are you’re already spending money on your dog.
Food.
Supplements.
Veterinary visits.
Products somebody recommended online.
Things you tried because they sounded promising.
Maybe even an impressive collection of half-used bottles sitting in a cabinet because somebody on Facebook said, “You NEED this.”
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can have isn’t another product.
It’s better information before you buy the next one.
The membership is designed to help you understand what matters first, recognize foundation problems, ask better questions, understand your options and make more intentional decisions.
Most importantly, you stop starting from scratch every single time something changes.
My goal isn’t to make you dependent on me.
It’s to help you become extremely good at knowing your own dog — while giving you reliable education, resources and guidance to come back to when you need them.
Membership
Monthly Membership — $29/month
Annual Membership — $299/year
Annual membership also includes my complete Homemade Food Class and Remedies Class.
If You Just Found Me Today
You don’t need to join because one article happened to land in your feed.
Read some of my work.
See how I think.
See whether my approach to dogs makes sense to you.
But if you’re already the dog parent who keeps thinking:
There has to be more I can do.
I want to understand this better.
I want to be proactive instead of waiting for something to go wrong.
Or maybe simply:
I want this dog here and healthy for as long as I can possibly have her.
Then you’re exactly who I built this membership for.
Eat Better. Feel Better. Live Longer.
Welcome to The Well Oiled K9.
Dana