Paul Tonkinson! (Part 2 of 2)

Part Two of this week's episode: our chat with the brilliant Paul Tonkinson is finally here! 🐾 Paul tells us all about cockapoo, Billie Jean, from morning garden rituals and gentle parenting approaches to the dog-related reason he had to postpone running an ultra marathon across the Sahara. We also hear about the dogs that came before Billie Jean, why dogs make the best therapists, whether running with your dog is ever a good idea, and the lengths Paul went to in order to make this interview happen after technical gremlins struck. Plus: dog nicknames, microwaved dog bowls, and the all-important question... does Billie Jean kiss Paul on the mouth? Paul's hilarious book, *Running Through Sand: An Aging Comedian's Ill Thought Out Ultra in the Sahara*, is out now. Get your copy: https://linktr.ee/runningthroughsand?utm\_source=linktree\_profile\_share&ltsid=6cd0b68a-9a0d-40ae-9022-b9e8a38bd857 00:00 Picking up where we left off... 00:55 Recreating podcast magic after a technical disaster 02:27 Meet Billie Jean 03:48 The dogs that came before: Dash and Calypso 05:04 Paul's unexpected new pet returning from Australia 06:08 Growing up without dogs 07:25 How different dogs shape different chapters of life 08:46 Billie Jean, morning walks and living in the moment 10:42 Paul's new book: Running Through Sand 11:55 Running an ultra marathon across the Sahara 13:43 The dogs that nearly stopped Paul making the start line 16:13 Off The Lead on Patreon.com/omdpod 16:45 Would Paul ever run with Billie Jean? 18:24 Dolly's Chihuahua hostel backstory 19:16 Gentle parenting... for dogs 20:04 Mildred, closed parks and explaining things to your dog 21:04 Dog nicknames and why Billie Jean is sometimes called "Freak" 22:20 Do dogs understand more than we think? 24:02 The microwaved dog bowl incident 25:38 Does Paul perform for Billie Jean? 27:50 Missing your dog while you're away 28:57 Taking Billie Jean on holiday to Europe 30:03 The ultimate Oh My Dog question: kisses on the mouth? 31:46 Seann forgets the title of Paul's book 32:45 Hills, walking routes and dog-friendly landscapes 33:25 Final thoughts and where to find us #OhMyDog #PaulTonkinson #JackDee #SeannWalsh #DogPodcast #BillieJeanTheDog #RunningThroughSand #ComedyPodcast #DogLovers #RescueDogs #UltraMarathon #SaharaMarathon