Enrichment, barking, whether dogs detect our stress, and questions about fearful dogs and cats

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 best tone of voice to use when speaking to your dog; whether dogs can detect our levels of stress; how to advocate for your dog; whether to teach a chin rest to cats for cooperative care; teaching cats to be wrapped in a towel for vet care; is watching TV good for pets,; how to teach cats to cooperate with having their claws trimmed; and we shared some tips on desensitization and counterconditioning for anxious and fearful dogs and cats. 

This episode was recorded with a live audience.

Links and resources: 

Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Zazie Todd is out now and getting rave reviews. It’s available from all good bookstores. https://greystonebooks.com/products/bark

Kristi Benson’s course on barking https://www.kristibenson.com/peace-and-quiet-barking-dogs

and on grooming: https://www.kristibenson.com/freshandfearless

The Husbandry project from the Academy for Dog Trainers https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/husbandry-project/

Train Your Dog Like a Pro by Jean Donaldson is also available from all good bookstores. 

Fear Free directory https://fearfreepets.com/ fearf

Debbie Jacobs Fearful Dogs https://fearfuldogs.com/

BC SPCA desensitization and counterconditioning for cats. You can find the infographic on Bailey Eagan’s website https://www.baileyheagan.com/resources

Companion Animal Psychology blog post on desensitization and counterconditioning https://www.companionanimalpsychology.c

Send us a text to say hello!

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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