The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

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.

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.

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:

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

Fresh and Fearless: Basic Grooming Made Easy

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.

Start From Scratch: Nail Scratchboard Class for Dogs

Fear Free Groomer Certification

Fear Free Directory

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:

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

Read highlights of the chat here.

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.

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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.

About the co-hosts:

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:

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:

Using social media to help dogs with Jennifer Malawey

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

12/21/23 • 37 min

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 help people learn about dogs and dog training.

Jennifer talks about how she comes up with ideas for content creation, and how much work it is to put a video together. We learn what she thinks are the most important things to get across about dog training. And we all know that social media can have its downsides, but we ask Jennifer about what she finds most rewarding about it. We also get her tips for getting more engagement on social media.
Then we chat about the books we're reading. This episode, we recommend:

All the Devils Are Here: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Book 16) by Louise Penny.

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller.

The Invention of the Modern Dog: Breed and Blood in Victorian Britain by Michael Worboys, Julie-Marie Strange, and Neil Pemberton.

About Jennifer Malawey CTC:

Jennifer Malawey is a dog-trainer-turned-content-creator. She currently works with Instinct Portland as a behavior consultant and social media manager, as well as partnering with brands in the pet space and doodling on her own TikTok channel. When she’s not working or lovin’ on her dogs (Dizzy, Keely, and Pizza), she can be found in her garden, on the lindy hop dance floor, or in a book.

Follow her on social:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifermalawey/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dizzydancingdog

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JenniferMalawey

About the co-hosts:

Flat-faced dogs and cats with Dr. Dan O'Neill and Dr. Rowena Packer

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

05/22/24 • 54 min

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 about Shih Tzus.

When dogs are bred for flat faces it means they can struggle to breathe. Dan and Rowena talk about the health issues these dogs can face and the effects it has on their lifespan.

We talk about their co-edited book, The Health and Welfare of Brachycephalic (Flat-Faced) Companion Animals: A Complete Guide for Veterinarians and Animal Professionals. The book covers a wide range of information and we talk about how the intended audience is not just vets but anyone who cares about these dogs.

And there's a note of optimism as we talk about what would make a difference to the welfare of flat-faced dogs.

Finally we talk about the books we're reading:

The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver

Nudge: The Final Edition by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein

Letters From a Lady Rancher by Monica Hopkins

Bookworm: A Novel by Robin Yeatman

About the co-hosts:

How to Help Dogs Prepare for a New Baby with Kate LaSala

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

07/03/24 • 34 min

Zazie and Kristi chat with Kate LaSala of Rescued By Training about the important steps to take to help dogs prepare for the arrival of a baby in the family.

Kate takes a lot of fear and aggression cases and she tells us how she came to specialize in working with families with small children. She tells us about the issues people have with their dogs when they are expecting and the reasons why it's so important to start preparation early. The dog needs to get used to being flexible, to no longer getting all the attention, to changes in sleeping arrangements, and to lack of sleep too.

Preparation is key and she tells us about the action plan that is part of her new self-paced course to help people get their dog ready to welcome a new baby and be comfortable with the new arrival. She also shares her favourite fact about child development that's good to know about supervising children's interactions with dogs. Kate also talks us through what to do if your dog growls at the baby or shows other signs of being uncomfortable.

And finally we all talk about the books we're reading.

About Kate LaSala:

Kata LaSala CTC is a professional dog trainer and certified behavior consultant specializing in fear and aggression. She’s helped over 2400 dogs overcome issues their guardians thought were impossible, including fear of strangers, separation anxiety, resource guarding, and growling at toddlers. As a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator, she’s uniquely qualified to help families with babies or kids. She offers one-on-one remote services worldwide and self-paced courses included her new online course, Bringing Home Baby: Preparing Dog and Family for a New Baby.

Kate's website: https://rescuedbytraining.com/

Bringing Home Baby: Preparing Dog and Family for a New Baby: https://rescuedbytraining.com/product/bringing-home-baby/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rescuedbytraining/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rescuedbytraining

Family Paws: https://www.familypaws.com/
The Family Dog: https://www.thefamilydog.com/

The Books:

It's Never Long Enough by Mary Gardner

My Best Mistake by Terry O'Reilly

The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

About the co-hosts:

Canine Crime and Mystery with Antony Johnston, Louisa Scarr, & Dr. Philipp Schott at Bark! Fest

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

03/16/25 • 64 min

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 found in the woods. And when veterinarian (and amateur detective) Dr. Bannerman and his champion sniffer dog Pippin holiday near a remote lake, he has to try to save some poisoned sled dogs and figure out why a float plane crashed in Eleven Huskies by Philipp Schott DVM.

We talked about:

How Antony Johnston came up with the idea of Gwinny Tuffel, the pet sitter who is the amateur detective in his Dog Sitter Detective books
Why Johnston especially enjoys writing cozy crime
The story of PC Lucy Halliday, the human remains detection dog handler, who is the main character in Louisa Scarr's Gallow's Wood
How Scarr did the research for this book which is a police procedural
How Dr. Bannerman and his pet dog work together in Dr. Philipp Schott's Eleven Huskies
Schott's love of the northern Canadian landscape and how it plays out in his books
and more, plus readings from each of the books!

Learn more about the authors:

Antony Johnston: https://antonyjohnston.com/

Louisa Scarr: https://www.instagram.com/louisascarrwriter/

Dr. Philipp Schott: https://www.philippschott.com/

The books are available wherever books are sold.

About the co-hosts: