Caring for Dogs with Pilley Bianchi, Wendy Lyons Sunshine, and Carri Westgarth PhD

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 human-animal interaction to help you improve your pet’s wellbeing and become The Happy Dog Owner. 

This conversation was recorded at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers, which celebrated the launch of Zazie Todd's new book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog.

In this conversation, we talked about:

• How Pilley Bianchi's book, For the Love of Dog, illustrated by Calum Heath, came about
• The role of Chaser the Border Collie in the book and tips from her learning of words
• The parenting research that Wendy Lyons Sunshine drew on to write her book for dog parents
• How to understand parenting styles when caring for a dog
• Why Dr. Carri Westgarth decided to focus on how to make dog owners happy
• Tips from her book about finding a responsibly bred puppy, which behaviors are most important to teach, and tips on training an alert

The other books mentioned in this episode are:-

• Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows 1000 Words by John W Pilley and Hilary Hinzmann (mentioned by Zazie and Pilley)
• Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy by Zazie Todd (mentioned by Carri)
• Kitty Language by Lili Chin (mentioned by Kristi)

The books are available wherever books are sold, including from:

Bookshop (which supports independent bookstores) https://bookshop.org/lists/bark-fest-the-book-festival-for-animal-lovers 

UK Bookshop (which supports indie bookstores in the UK) https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bark-fest-the-book-festival-for-animal-lovers

The authors' websites:

Pilley Bianchi: https://www.pilleybianchi.com/

Wendy Lyons Sunshine: https://www.wendylsunshine.com/

Carri Westgarth, PhD: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/people/carri-westgarth

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About the co-hosts:

Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist.

Kristi Benson's website Facebook

Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.

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