The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

We talk about the health issues faced by flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs and cats and why these breeds are still to popular with Dr. Dan O'Neill and Dr. Rowena Packer of the Royal Veterinary College.

We start by talking about what we mean when we talk about brachycephalic dogs. Pugs, Bulldogs, and French Bulldogs are the poster children for these breeds and get the most attention, but we also get some surprising good news abou...

Zazie and Kristi are joined by Grant Hayter-Menzies to talk about his book Freddie: The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Me.

In this episode, we’re joined by writer and biographer Grant Hayter-Menzies to talk about his book Freddie: The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Me. We talk about how Freddie came into his life and the important ways in which dogs help us, even when we think we’re the ones saving them. 

Freddie was a terrified rescue dog who took ...

Zazie and Kristi are joined by zoologist Dr. Jo Wimpenny to talk about her book, Aesop’s Animals: The Science Behind the Fables, which is out now in paperback.

In this episode of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, Zazie and Kristi are joined by zoologist and writer Dr. Jo Wimpenny ...

Zazie and Kristi are joined by TikTok star Jennifer Malawey (Dizzy Dancing Dog) who shares her secrets about how to us social media to help dogs.

Jennifer Malawey has a CTC from the Academy for Dog Trainers andis  a Certified SA Pro trainer who works on separation anxiety cases. She also puts out fantastic content on dog training on her social media and Youtube. She joined us to chat about how we can use social media to h...

Zazie and Kristi chat with Victoria Schade, dog trainer and author of delightful romcoms, about her upcoming book Unleashed Holiday. 

We learn about the Puppy Bowl and Victoria's involvement in it as lead animal wrangler, and how she made the move to writing, first with nonfiction books about dog training and then to romcoms. We chat about how Victoria's books include real-life issues, and how she juggles the 'educat...

In this episode we chat about how to groom your cat and how to deal with mats, as well as how to trim your cat’s nails. We discuss the many reasons why it’s important not to “declaw” your cat and how it’s really like an amputation. Scratching is a natural behavior for cats and we talk about the kind of post to provide to keep your cat happy.

We also discuss the tricky topic of how to give meds to your cats, including pilling, towel-...

Kristi and Zazie are joined by author Sassafras Lowrey to talk about her latest book, Claw This Journal, which is full of fun tips for activities to do with your cat. We learn about how Sassafras's cat Thing came into her life and why she wrote this book. We talk about enrichment for cats, and how it's important to tailor it for individual cats. We also discuss what our cats would get Best in Show prizes for.

We also chat ...

It’s surprisingly common for newly-adopted dogs to get lost, and for any dog to go missing at some point in their lives, even if only for a moment. How can we stop dogs from getting lost? We chat with Maria Karunungan of Fetch the Leash in Burlington, Vermont, about the steps dog guardians can take to prevent their dog from getting lost.

From the best treats to use when teaching dogs to come when called, the prevention strategies al...

We talk about how much grooming dogs need, whether they have short fur or long fur, and why it’s important to stay on top of it. We chat about the research that shows that dogs can find grooming stressful, and the training we can do to make it easier. It's so important to go at the dog's pace.

A lot of people find doing their dog’s nails a chore, and Jane has just released a free course, Start From Scratch , that shows you...

Resource Guarding in Dogs

We talk with Lisa about what resource guarding is and the body language that you should look for to spot it. People often have an emotional response to resource guarding—it can be a shock if your dog growls at you—and we talk about why you shouldn’t punish the growl and how to deal with those completely normal feelings. 

We discuss how to fix resource guarding issues and why aversive methods are not the answ...

Kindness in dog training

We talk with Jane about the importance of kindness in dog training, both kindness to dogs and kindness to people. We begin by talking about the most important ways to be kind to dogs. Jane specializes in working with clients whose dogs have separation anxiety, and we also talk about how to help people deal with this tricky issue without leaving their dog alone for any longer than they are okay with.

We also c...

Training Tricks with Your Dog (and Cat)

Teaching tricks to your dog is fun and cute, and a great way to improve the human-animal bond. Plus, you get to show off how adorable your pet is.

Erica Beckwith is the talented tricks trainer behind A Matter of Manners Dog Training, where she does behaviour consults for dogs and cats and runs online classes to teach a variety of tricks including peekaboo, sit pretty, chorus line kicks, and how...

we talk about countering misinformation about dogs and cats with truth sandwiches. We run through some myths about dog training and cat behaviour, talk about why they are wrong, and figure out some truth sandwiches to help correct the misinformation. 

We consider: 

    why it’s wrong to take a dominance approach to dog training

    why we should use positive reinforcement rather than punishment in dog training

    the myth that dogs sh...

The Pawsitive Post In Conversation Ep 4 with special guest Jean Donaldson. #CAP10.

Zazie and Kristi are joined by Jean Donaldson, one of the world's top dog trainers, founder of the Academy for Dog Trainers, and author of Culture Clash. Zazie, Kristi, and Jean talk about what's changed for dogs over the last ten years: the move to reward-based dog training methods, increased enrichment, better education of pet guardians, a...

Episode 5 of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation sees Zazie and Kristi talk about the names we give our pets. We chat about how we choose them, what makes a good name, how we use our pets' names, how to change a pet's name, and whether they know their own and each other's names.

As well, we talk about the books the book club is reading right now and our own choices of books we love. (There may be some spoilers in this ...

We talk about New Year's Resolutions, habits that are a good idea for pet guardians, helping dogs and cats cope with winter, grooming dogs and cats, writing habits, and what we're reading right now.

The books mentioned:

A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of dogs in a World Without Humans by Jessice Pierce and Marc Bekoff

The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It by W. Chris Winter

How to Pronounce Kn...

We chat about the Genius Dog Challenge, where scientists are finding dogs who know a lot of words, and Stella the dog who learned to use buttons to communicate. We also talk about the words and behaviours our own dogs and cats know--and the behaviours we think are important for every pet to know.

Kristi tells us about her courses for people who need help with their dog jumping up or housetraining.

And finally we chat about the books ...

Meet Zazie Todd and Kristi Benson, the hosts of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, as they chat about dogs and cats.

This podcast is for anyone who wants to learn more about how to have a better relationship with their dog or cat. We'll focus on dog and cat behaviour and training. Whether you are a dog person or a cat person, there will be something for you to enjoy.

We chat about how we first met via The Academy for Dog Traine...