The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

• Teenage dogs (and what to do about them) with Tina Spring

  Content warning: Suicidal ideation comes up in this conversation. Help is available. In Canada or the US, call or text 988 for the suicide crisis helpline. In the UK, the Samaritans are on 116 123. When a cute puppy turns into a terrible teen, many people struggle. Tina Spring of Sit Happens joins us to talk about adolescent canines and how she helps people with their teenage dog in a place where many pups miss out on puppy class. Tina is also the smart, funny, and kind host of Your Family Dog podcast.We talked about:the importance of puppy class and how to socialize your puppywhy Tina offers an adolescent puppy classthe issues that people have as their puppy becomes a teenthe importance of food treats and seeing things through your puppy's eyeswhat Tina says when people are struggling with their adolescent dogsimilarities between parenting teenage puppies and teenage humansburnout and trauma in dog trainingYour Family Dog podcast and how Tina got involvedZazie Todd and Marc Bekoff on Your Family Dog Zazie on YFD to talk about anxious dogs  and happy dogs The Beast Keepers by Julie Fudge Smith Colleen Pelar https://colleenpelar.com/Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.The full show notes and transcript are available here: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2025/09/teenage-dogs-and-what-to-do-about-them.htmlTina Spring started training dogs as a child in 1979 in 4H. Her love of dogs and of teaching led her to a career working with dogs and families. She published her first book, 90 Days to the Perfect Puppy, in 2005 and it’s now part of her online puppy rearing program that bears the same name. She is the owner of Sit Happens Dog Training & Behavior, LLC in Athens, Georgia, where she does in person and online consults and specializes in fear and aggression and the special relationships between kids & dogs. She’s also the co-host of the Your Family Dog podcast, which is a really fun and excellent podcast.Send us a text to say hello!Support the showAbout 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. Instagram BlueSky

  --------  

  52:55

  --------

  52:55
• How to help your reactive or fearful dog

  If a dog is reactive, fearful, or anxious, often the dog is struggling--and so is their person. We share tips to help you to help your fearful dog, from the first chapter of Zazie's book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog. Bark! is out now in paperback and available wherever books are sold.Get Bark!: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/p/books.html We talked about:How important it is to recognize the signs of stress in dogsYour priority is to help your dog feel safePick a food your dog really loves that you can use to teach them to like the thing they are scared ofThe kinds of food that are bestHow to be prepared and make sure you have those tasty treats to handHow to bridge and fridgeThe importance of finding activities that both you and your dog loveKristi and Zazie each share a story of a time something unexpected happened and they had treats to handAnd finally we talked about the books we're reading.The books we mention in this episode:The Beaverton podcast (okay, it's a podcast!)The Home Cookbook, 125th anniversary editionOtter by Jackie MorrisAlso mentioned is a study on how people spot signs of stress in dogs interacting with children. You can read about it here: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2017/05/people-mistakenly-think-anxious-dogs.htmlSend 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. Instagram BlueSky

  --------  

  39:05

  --------

  39:05
• Training dogs, lizards, and sea lions with Dr. Adrian Walton

  What's a veterinarian's view on dog training methods? And if your pet is terrified of going to the vet, how can they help? We find out from an amazing veterinarian, Dr. Adrian Walton of Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge, BC.We talked about:Dr. Walton’s position on dog training methods, and his experience of so-called “balanced” trainersHow he trained sealions at the Toronto Zoo with a whistle and a bucket of fishHow a large lizard ended up at his clinic and what his technician taught the Nile monitor to doHow we know that lizards can countThe difference that medication can make for pets who are scared at the vetHow pain can affect pets’ behaviourWhat it’s like working with exotic animalsThe best pet to get for your kidAnd Dr. Walton recommends the books he’s been readingThe books:Invertebrate Medicine by Gregory A LewbartBoat Camping in Haida Gwaii by Neil FrazerDr. Adrian Walton is the owner of Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge, BC. He’s a graduate of University of Guelph and has degrees in Marine Biology from Dalhousie University and a Masters Degree from Simon Fraser University. Prior to moving to Maple Ridge he was an emergency veterinarian in Seattle. His area of interest is exotic animal medicine and spends a lot of his spare time helping abandoned and neglected reptiles and exotics find forever homes.Website: https://dewdneyvet.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dewdneyvet/See the videos of the lizard and its training on Youtube here https://youtu.be/LD75UntRMwI?t=789 (and again at 19.25). The lizard video is courtesy of Dr. Adrian Walton.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. Instagram BlueSky

  --------  

  36:48

  --------

  36:48
• Writers on what brings them hope for the human-animal relationship (bonus)

  Writers talk about what brings them hope for the human-dog, human-cat, and human-animal bond.This is a bonus episode featuring Patricia McConnell PhD, Jean Donaldson, Marc Bekoff PhD, and all of the writers who took part in Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers. Together they share their insights on what is cause for hope. Bark! Fest celebrated the launch of my book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, which is out now.A few years back, I heard one of my favourite authors speak at an online literary festival. Amin Maalouf is a member of the Academie Francaise and the author of novels including Samarkand and The Rock of Tanios. He said, “I think the duty of a writer is to have lucidity and hope. If you spread despair, it’s best not to speak at all.” So that's what made me think to ask this question of everyone.You can find recordings of the full panel discussions in our back catalogue.The authors and their books:Patricia B. McConnell: The Education of Will and The Other End of the Leash.Jean Donaldson: The Culture Clash.Zazie Todd PhD: Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog.  Marc Bekoff, PhD: Dogs Demystified and The Emotional Lives of Animals.Cat Warren: What the Dog Knows.  Alexis Devine: I Am Bunny.  Teresa J. Rhyne: Poppy in the Wild. Lili Chin: Kitty Language.Mikel Delgado PhD: Play With Your Cat! .Lucy Hoile: the book your cat wishes you would read.  Pilley Bianchi: For the Love of Dog, illustrated by Calum Heath.Wendy Lyons Sunshine: Tender Paws.Carri Westgarth PhD: The Happy Dog Owner.  Antony Johnston: The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead.Louisa Scarr: Gallows Wood.  Philipp Schott DVM: Eleven Huskies: A Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery.  Sarah Chauncey: P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna, illustrated by Francis Tremblay.  Sassafras Patterdale (Lowrey): Claw This Journal.Rachel Wells: Alfie the Christmas Cat.  E.B. Bartels: Good Grief.Rev. Sarah A. Bowen: Sacred Sendoffs.Karen Fine DVM: The Other Family Doctor.  Kristi Benson.Finding hope in dog training and animal behaviour (Psych Today) https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/fellow-creatures/202103/finding-hope-in-dog-training-and-animal-behaviorSend 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. Instagram BlueSky

  --------  

  25:38

  --------

  25:38
• The benefits of tricks training for dogs and cats with Erica Beckwith (Replay)

  As we take a summer break, we're replaying this fun and fantastic interview with Erica Beckwith of A Matter of Manners dog training about the benefits of tricks training for dogs and cats.We talked about:the benefits of tricks traininghow tricks training can help you love your pet even morehow Erica got into training tricksErica's favourite tricks to teach others in classestips on how to take a selfie with your doghow to find the right reinforcement for your cat, and the right way to deliver that reinforcementThis episode was first published in 2022.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: https://www.amatterofmannersdogtraining.com/ 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: http://www.kristibenson.com/Zazie Todd's book Purr includes a training plan to teach your cat to go into their carrier and to teach them to sit pretty. Purr, Wag, and Bark! are available wherever books are sold.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. Instagram BlueSky

  --------  

  41:49

  --------

  41:49

Mais podcasts de Arte

Podcasts em tendência em Arte

Sobre The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology