The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC
The show about how to have a better relationship with your dog or cat. Get tips on dog training and behaviour and cat behaviour and training, learn about the science on dogs and cats, and find out which books we're reading (animal-related and more generally). Hosted by Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC of Companion Animal Psychology blog.
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Teaching recall and stopping dogs from getting lost with Maria Karunungan
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
06/01/23 • 32 min
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 all dog guardians should use, to special steps to take when your dog is new to you, this episode is packed with tips. Kristi shares the heart-stopping story of when one of her dogs went missing, long before she became a dog trainer. And we also ask Maria for tips for dog trainers on how to work with clients, based on her background in multicultural education.
At the end, we chat about the books we’re reading.
The books we chat about:
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Zoo by Ogden Nash
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
The books are available from all good bookstores and Companion Animal Psychology's Amazon store .
About Maria Karunungan:
Maria is the owner of Fetch the Leash in Burlington, Vermont. She is an honors graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers, a PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Guild and she is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer. Maria also has a Ph.D. in educational research from Emory University, and an undergraduate degree in music from Yale University. Maria’s experience also includes working with a wide range of shelter animals at various shelters in Northern California.
Fetch the Leash website: https://www.fetchtheleash.biz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fetchtheleash
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fetch_the_leash/
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
How much grooming do dogs need and how can you do their nails with Jane Wolff
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/26/23 • 43 min
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 how to train your dog to do their own nails using a scratch board.
Finally, we talk about what we’re reading right now.
Fresh and Fearless: Basic Grooming Made Easy
Start From Scratch: Nail Scratchboard Class for Dogs
Fear Free Groomer Certification
Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy by Zazie Todd will be out in paperback on June 6th. The hardback is out now.
How To Have a Happy Dog webinar
How To Have a Happy Cat webinar
Subscribe to the Companion Animal Psychology newsletter here
The books we chat about
Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses by Jackie Higgins.
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles.
How To Tell If Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by The Oatmeal and Matthew Inman.
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa.
The books are available from all good bookstores and Companion Animal Psychology’s Amazon store .
About Jane Wolff:
Jane Wolff is the co-owner of Good Wolff Dog Training in Ann Arbor, Michi
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
Understanding resource guarding in dogs and how to fix it with Lisa Skavienski
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/23/23 • 49 min
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 answer. Kristi and Zazie both share stories about their own dogs’ resource guarding behaviour, and we also talk about how to prevent it in the first place.
Finally, we talk about the books we are reading right now.
Lisa Skavienski is the owner of Dog Educated in Rochester, NY, where she specializes in classes, workshops, and private consultation for dog owners. She is deeply invested in animal welfare, participating at the local community level, as well as holding a seat on the Pet Professional Guild’s Shelter and Rescue Committee. Lisa studied with behavior expert Jean Donaldson at the highly acclaimed Academy for Dog Trainers. She is also a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer and Fear free certified.
The books:
Zazie Todd's Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and her upcoming book Shiver.
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong was the Animal Book Club’s choice for February and March.
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (Global Icons Series) by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams with Gail Hudson.
The Roller Derby Blueprint by Scott Meyer.
Still I Cannot Save You by Kelly S. Thompson.
Read highlights of the chat here.
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
The importance of kindness in dog training with Jane Wolff
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/11/23 • 47 min
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 chat about Jane’s social justice work, and how that informs her dog training too.
And in the final section we talk about the books we are reading right now.
About Jane Wolff:
Jane Wolff is the co-owner of Good Wolff Dog Training in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She specializes in treating separation anxiety and is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT). She also graduated with honours from the Academy for Dog Trainers (CTC) and is certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers as a CPDT-KA. She has been working with dogs professionally since 2014 and loves working with dogs and their people.
Facebook Instagram
Fresh and Fearless: Basic Grooming Made Easy, the course by Jane available on Kristi's website.
Pet Pals Mutual Aid
Books
Wonderdog: The Science of Dogs and Their Unique Friendship with Humans by Jules Howard is the Animal Book Club’s choice for November.
Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon by Bronwen Dickey.
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel.
Invisible Boy: A Memoir of Self-Discovery by Harrison Mooney.
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
The benefits of tricks training for dogs and cats with Erica Beckwith
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/05/23 • 42 min
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 to take a selfie with your dog.
Kristi Benson and I spoke to Erica about why she loves teaching tricks, where she finds the motivation to spend time working on tricks with her dogs, and what her favourite tricks are. As well, we get some tips on how to train your dog so that you can get a better selfie with them, and the things to consider when teaching tricks to your cat.
In news, Kristi’s courses now have CEUs available and there are some new courses coming soon. And Zazie will be teaching Making Pets Happy: The Role of Positive Experiences in Good Animal Welfare for the IAABC Foundation.
Plus, of course, in the final section we share the books we are reading right now.
About Erica Beckwith: Erica Beckwith of A Matter of Manners Dog Training in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Erica is an amazing positive reinforcement trainer who first got into dogs as a volunteer at Busan Abandoned Pet Sanctuary in South Korea. After moving back to America, Erica studied at the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers where she got her CTC. Erica is also a CBCC-KA and a Fear Free certified professional. Erica loves cats too, and earlier this year she graduated with a certificate in Advanced Feline behaviour for Cat Professionals with Distinction from International Cat Care.
Website: A Matter of Manners Facebook Instagram
The schedule of Erica’s online tricks classes is here .
See Erica’s dogs (including Ruckus and the trumpet) in the video Yes Sir, That’s My Baby from The Academy for Dog Trainers.
Kristi Benson’s website and courses .
Making pets happy: The role of positive experiences in good ani
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
Pets' names: How we choose them, how we use them, and how to change them
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/03/23 • 34 min
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 discussion).
Pet cats know their fellow cats' names, study shows (Psychology Today)
Our heroes by Jean Donaldson and Kristi Benson (The Academy for Dog Trainers)
Books:
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy by Zazie Todd
Plenty in Life is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace by Kathy Sdao
Happiness: A Novel by Aminatta Forna
Heroes Month is taking place at the Academy for Dog Trainers in June 2022. (On Facebook)
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
Good habits and resolutions for dog and cat guardians and writers
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/03/23 • 35 min
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 Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
Genius dogs and talking dogs
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/02/23 • 42 min
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 we're reading.
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
Introduction to The Pawsitive Post in Conversation
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
05/02/23 • 11 min
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 Trainers and the expertise that we bring to this topic, as well as what to expect from future episodes. Everything we do is infused by a few core principles. Reward-based training methods are effective and better for dog and cat welfare. Management is often a part of the solution for behaviour issues. And enrichment helps to ensure that we're meeting our dogs' and cats' needs.
Towards the end of each show we will be sharing the books we're reading, as well as the book choices of the Animal Book Club, which can be about dogs, cats, or other animals--including humans. When we have special guests, they will also share with us what they are reading. The book recommendations can be any kind of book--not just nonfiction, but fiction, poetry, graphic novels... whichever books we happen to love.
You can learn more about Zazie at https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/ (which is also where you'll find the show notes) and about Kristi (including her online courses) at http://www.kristibenson.com/
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
Enrichment for cats and writing about dogs and cats with Sassafras Lowrey
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology
07/04/23 • 34 min
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 about her book for young dog lovers, Jillian at the Junior Showcase. As well, we chat about the writing life and get Sassafras's tips for aspiring writers.
Finally, we chat about the books we're reading.
Reading Cats and Dogs: Watch Sassafras Lowrey, Zazie Todd, and Lili Chin in conversation with Kristi Benson about their books here: https://youtu.be/f_BQ7URuT4g
About Sassafras Lowrey: Sassafras Lowrey is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI), AKC CGC/Trick Dog Evaluator and AKC FIT DOG Instructor. Sassafras' dog training books include Tricks In The City and Chew This Journal. Sassafras is an author and multimedia educator who writes regularly about dog training for leading national publications. Sassafras' dog training articles have regularly appeared in leading dog magazines like Dogster, The Bark, Modern Dog, and with The American Kennel Club as well as mainstream publications including WIRED, Apartment Therapy and The New York Times.
Website: https://sassafraslowrey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sassafraslowrey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sassafraslowrey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sassafraslowrey/
The books we chat about:
On Animals by Susan Orlean
Doomsday with my Dog by Yu Ishihara
Comparative Animal Behavior by Richard Maier
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns.
The books are available from all good bookstores and the Companion Animal Psychology Amazon store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/animalbookclub
About the co-hosts:
Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of 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 teaching and consultations. Kristi is on staff at the Academy for Dog Trainers, helping to shape the next generation of canine professionals. Kristi’s dogs are rescue sled dogs, mostly retired and thoroughly enjoying a good snooze in front of the woodstove.
Kristi Benson's website Facebook
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of 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 also has a column at Psychology Today. Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and one cat.
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology have?
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology currently has 26 episodes available.
What topics does The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology cover?
The podcast is about Pets & Animals, Dogs, Dog Training, Kids & Family, Cats, Pets, Podcasts, Books and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology?
The episode title 'Cat Husbandry: How to Groom Your Cat, Trim Nails, Get Scratching Posts, and Give Meds' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology?
The average episode length on The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology is 43 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology released?
Episodes of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology are typically released every 13 days, 20 hours.
When was the first episode of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology?
The first episode of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology was released on May 2, 2023.
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