The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

What's a veterinarian's view on dog training methods? And if your pet is terrified of going to the vet, how can they help? We find out from an amazing veterinarian, Dr. Adrian Walton of Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge, BC.

We talked about:

• Dr. Walton’s position on dog training methods, and his experience of so-called “balanced” trainers
• How he trained sealions at the Toronto Zoo with a whistle and a bucket of fish
• ...

Writers talk about what brings them hope for the human-dog, human-cat, and human-animal bond.

This is a bonus episode featuring Patricia McConnell PhD, Jean Donaldson, Marc Bekoff PhD, and all of the writers who took part in Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. Together they share their insights on what is cause for hope. Bark! Fest celebrated the launch of my book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or R...

As we take a summer break, we're replaying this fun and fantastic interview with Erica Beckwith of A Matter of Manners dog training about the benefits of tricks training for dogs and cats.

We talked about:

• the benefits of tricks training
• how tricks training can help you love your pet even more
• how Erica got into training tricks
• Erica's favourite tricks to teach others in classes
• tips on how to take a selfie with your dog
• how...

Dogs have incredible noses, and can trained to search for the scent of human remains, bringing closure to those who are grieving and the opportunity to memorialize. As well as recent remains, they can also search for historic remains. We're joined by two experts in the field, Kim Cooper of Ottawa Valley Search and Rescue, and Cat Warren, author of the NYT-bestseller What the Dog Knows, to learn more about these dogs and the wo...

Zazie Todd is at the forefront of the move towards positive animal welfare and kind, humane dog training methods. Her third book, Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is a compassionate and practical guide to overcoming your dog’s fears. In this panel from Bark! Fest, you’ll learn how to help your dog feel safe, how your presence can help your dog, and get a new understanding of the training technique...

Living with pets sadly means losing them too. There wasn't a dry eye in the house (in a good way) at this event.

Loving pets means thinking of them both in life and after their loss. In the poignant and personal Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter, E.B. Bartels takes us on a global tour of how we love and mourn our pets. Sarah Bowen shares her deep insights on the lives and loss of all animals—pets and wildlife—in Sa...

When The Emotional Lives of Animals was first published in 2007, it was a gamechanger for its exploration of animal emotions and cognition. Now, a second edition has been published to bring us up to date on all the new science of animal emotions. Marc Bekoff joins us in this webinar to talk about animals’ experiences of joy, empathy, grief, anger, and embarrassment. You’ll never see animals the same way again.

We talked about:

• ...

Reflect on what cats mean to us and the many ways they influence our lives with these 3 feline authors. 

Sarah Chauncey’s heartfelt P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna is a touching celebration of our bond with our cats, illustrated by Francis Tremblay. Claw This Journal: An Activity Book for Cats and Their Humans by Sassafras Patterdale (Lowrey) is packed with crafts, training, and activities and a deep understanding of cats’ emotional ...

Zazie chats with Kerry Nichols, bestselling author of Puppy Brain: How Our Dogs Learn, Think, and Love.

We talk about:

• How Kerry got into breeding dogs
• Why we both love Golden Retrievers
• How the book, Puppy Brain, came about
• What puppies are like when they are born
• Examples of the socialization that Kerry does with puppies
• Her favourite part of the first 8 weeks of a puppy's life
• Advice on finding a responsible breeder (for any b...

If you love crime and mystery novels, you’re in for a treat as dogs help solve crimes in these remarkable books. When a singer dies in mysterious circumstances, dog sitter Gwinny Tuffel and the singer’s Border Collie investigate in Antony Johnston’s cosy and witty The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead. In Louisa Scarr’s dark and compelling Gallows Wood, PC Lucy Halliday and her dog Moss search for the body after a severed hand is...

Zazie and Kristi talk to dog trainer Si Wooler about his new book, More Than Just a Dog.

We talk about the big changes that people are willing to make for their fearful dogs, and why the dog's relationship with their person is important for all dogs, but especially the fearful ones. We talk about what a great job Si does of helping people see things from the dog's perspective, and we ask how he talks with clients about the...

Develop a better bond with your dog with these 3 canine authors. For the Love of Dog is Pilley Bianchi’s love letter to our canine friends, sharing wisdom from her father John W. Pilley’s work with Chaser the Border Collie and illustrated by NYTimes illustrator Calum Heath. In Tender Paws, Wendy Lyons Sunshine examines what dog guardians can learn from the science of human parenting. And Carri Westgarth draws on her research into h...

Learn about the best ways to care for cats with these 3 feline authors. The delightful and informative drawings in Kitty Language by Lili Chin teach you how to understand your feline friend. Mikel Delgado’s Play With Your Cat! will inspire you to have more fun through interactive play with your kitty. And in the book your cat wishes you would read, Lucy Hoile empowers cat guardians to build a better relationship with their cat.

We t...

Celebrate the dog-human bond with these bestselling authors. Social media stars Alexis Devine and her dog Bunny examine our ability to communicate with dogs through buttons that let them “talk” in I Am Bunny. And in Poppy in the Wild, #1 New York Times bestselling author Teresa J Rhyne tells the breathtaking tale of a dog lost and then found in the wilderness.

We talked about:

• Why Alexis decided to start using buttons to teach ...

Discover the role of emotions and perception in dogs’ lives. In Dogs Demystified: An A-to-Z Guide to All Things Canine and the second edition of The Emotional Lives of Animals, Marc Bekoff updates our understanding of the emotions animals feel (and how we know they feel them). For people whose dogs feel shy or worried, Zazie Todd’s Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is a compassionate and practical ...

Bark! Fest gets off to a tail-wagging start with a conversation with one of the world’s top dog trainers. Jean Donaldson’s seminal book The Culture Clash reframed how we think about dogs and has inspired generations of dog trainers to use (or switch to) reward-based methods. Join us to talk about all things dog training, including positive reinforcement, fearful dogs, and education for dog owners and trainers alike.

This recording i...

Patricia B. McConnell PhD is an internationally-renowned applied animal behaviourist who has dedicated her life to improving the relationship between people and animals. Amongst her many treasured dog training books, The Other End of the Leash draws our attention to the human side of dog training.

McConnell’s memoir, The Education of Will, is a beautifully-written and uplifting account of how to reclaim life after trauma, for both ...

In this episode, Zazie and Kristi answer wide-ranging questions about both dogs and cats that were sent in by listeners. 

We talked about brain games and the attention span in senior dogs; suggestions for new things to teach dogs; why dogs bark at e.g. people in hats or people going by the house; cooperative care for kittens; creating a local resource list for anxious and fearful dogs; enrichment and caring for fearful cats; the bes...

Zazie and Kristi talk to dog trainer Emily Priestley about her book Urban Sheepdog and what you need to know about herding breeds.

We start by discussing which breeds count as herding breeds and what they were bred to do, and ask Emily how a herding dog first came into her life.

Then we talked about the kinds of herding dog behaviours that dog guardians can sometimes struggle with, and the extent to which we consider these normal or ...