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Zazie and Kristi speak to Nicole Ettenhofer, VP of Growth and Strategy at George Street Photo & Video, about pet-friendly ways to get cute wedding photos with your pet.
As people increasingly consider pets to be part of the family, they want to involve them in their wedding. So what you can you do to make sure you get some great photos that include the pet, without overwhelming them? We begin with a personal story from Nicole that will have you tearing up in a good way, and which shows you can trust her tips to be pet-friendly.
A wedding is a big event and most pets are not used to big gatherings, so we get Nicole’s tips on the preparation that people should do in advance of the celebration. A pet handler can help to make sure things go smoothly, and we talk about the kind of things they should do.
Pets can play a wide range of roles in a wedding, from being the ring-bearer to simply making a brief appearance. We consider the best ways to involve them and how to take the pet’s personality into account. Nicole has ideas for getting your pet to cooperate with having their photo taken, but she also reminds us to make the most of those cute moments when the pet does something unexpected—often these unplanned moments can make the best photos.
And although you might assume that we’re talking only about dogs, cats and bigger animals like horses and llamas also get a mention.
Finally, we talk about the books we’re reading.
About Nicole Ettenhofer:Nicole Ettenhofer is the VP of Growth & Strategy for George Street Photo & Video, a national wedding photo and video company based in Chicago, IL with experience serving thousands of customers and offering best in quality wedding coverage at an affordable cost. With over a decade of experience in the wedding industry, Nicole is an expert in wedding trends and couples photography and has helped the company achieve accolades such as The Knot’s Best of Weddings every year from 2020-2024, The Knot’s Best of Weddings Hall of Fame for the company’s commitment to quality and value and WeddingWire’s Couples’ Choice 2024. Before joining George Street, Nicole served as a thought leader within the event and hospitality industry for over 20 years. As for her personal life, Nicole resides near Denver, CO with her husband and two dogs and is an avid hiking enthusiast.
About George Street Photo & Video
Established in 2004, George Street Photo & Video wa
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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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:
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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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:
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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Zazie and Kristi are joined by Grant Hayter-Menzies to talk about his book Freddie: The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Me.
In this episode, we’re joined by writer and biographer Grant Hayter-Menzies to talk about his book Freddie: The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Me. We talk about how Freddie came into his life and the important ways in which dogs help us, even when we think we’re the ones saving them.
Freddie was a terrified rescue dog who took time to settle in, and became so important to Hayter-Menzies. Hayter-Menzies tells us about how he wrote biographies of extraordinary women, and Freddie’s influence led him to start writing biographies of important animals, like Rags (the World War 1 dog), Muggins (the Canadian canine war hero who raised funds for charity in BC), and Woo (Emily Carr’s monkey).
Then a test at the vet showed Freddie had the cancer hemangiosarcoma. We talk about how they got through this difficult time, Freddie’s bravery, and the importance of memorializing pets once they are gone.
Having adopted Freddie as a fearful rescue dog, we get Hayter-Menzies’ tips for anyone considering doing the same. We also ask for his advice on writing.
And finally, we discuss the books we’re reading. This episode we recommend:
Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter by E.B. Bartels.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
Rose Adams by Margie Taylor.
About Grant Hayter-Menzies:
Grant Hayter-Menzies is a biographer and historian specializing in the lives of extraordinary and unsung heroes of the past, notably the role of animals in times of war. He is the author of thirteen books, including Muggins: The Life and Afterlife of a Canadian Canine War Hero, Woo: The Monkey Who Inspired Emily Carr, Dorothy Brooke and the Fight to Save Cairo’s Lost War Horses, and From Stray Dog to World War One Hero: The Paris Terrier Who Joined the First Division. He is also literary executor of playwright William Luce.
Learn more about Grant Hayter-Menzies on his website https://grantmenzies.wixsite.com/author or follow him on social media:
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/GrantHayter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/g.menzies/
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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Zazie and Kristi are joined by zoologist Dr. Jo Wimpenny to talk about her book, Aesop’s Animals: The Science Behind the Fables, which is out now in paperback.
In this episode of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, Zazie and Kristi are joined by zoologist and writer Dr. Jo Wimpenny to talk about her book Aesop’s Animals: The Science Behind the Fables. We talk about the history of Aesop’s fables and the role they still play in society today, before moving on to wonder whether there is a grain of truth in them when it comes to animal behaviour.
We consider some of the most popular fables. Are crows really as clever as Aesop suggested? Why are wolves always the villain? Do dogs recognize their shadow? And what is the yellow snow test all about?
We also talk about the difference between what the fable says on the surface, and what happens when you really dig deep into the question—the ant and the grasshopper is the fable that comes to mind here.
In Wimpenny’s book, the animals are the characters in their own stories. We talk about writing about animals and the importance of discussing myths.
And, of course, we talk about the books we’re reading. This episode, we recommend:
Bitch: On the Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke.
Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman.
Surfacing by Kathleen Jamie.
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande.
Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book by Courtney Maum.
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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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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:
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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Zazie and Kristi chat with Victoria Schade, dog trainer and author of delightful romcoms, about her upcoming book Unleashed Holiday.
We learn about the Puppy Bowl and Victoria's involvement in it as lead animal wrangler, and how she made the move to writing, first with nonfiction books about dog training and then to romcoms. We chat about how Victoria's books include real-life issues, and how she juggles the 'educator' and 'entertainer' hats.
Victoria’s upcoming book, Dog Friendly, will be released on September 17th. The main character is a vet, and Victoria tells us how she went about researching the life of a vet so that she could get the details right. Zazie and Kristi wonder if any of the dogs in Victoria's books are based on real animals that she has known, and get her tips for writing about dogs.
Then we ask about her book Unleashed Holiday. If you’re in the US you have the chance to win an advance reader copy of the book. Finally we chat about the books we're reading.
Enter the competition to win an advance reader copy of Unleashed Holiday here: https://www.facebook.com/companionanimalpsychology/posts/pfbid025Q1JP5mxZj3H53nb6jCuC7qsXYLtR2zCKcUV1npCPwLeF3tMKme7r815zauc9qrfl
You can watch some highlights from the Puppy Bowl here: https://youtu.be/aCIxotfhQ24
The books we're reading
Poppy in the Wild by Teresa J. Rhyne
Dog Friendly and Who Rescued Who, both by Victoria Schade
The Book of Silver Linings by Nan Fischer
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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In this episode we chat about how to groom your cat and how to deal with mats, as well as how to trim your cat’s nails. We discuss the many reasons why it’s important not to “declaw” your cat and how it’s really like an amputation. Scratching is a natural behavior for cats and we talk about the kind of post to provide to keep your cat happy.
We also discuss the tricky topic of how to give meds to your cats, including pilling, towel-wrapping, and tricks to make meds easier. Along the way we share stories about our own cats and of course a few tips for dogs as well.
At the end we chat about the books we’re reading.
Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy by Zazie Todd is available from all good bookstores.
All of the books mentioned in the episode are available from my Amazon store. https://www.amazon.com/shop/animalbookclub
The Paw Project: Cats’ paws need their claws
BC’s 2018 ban on declawing cats was good news for cats, study shows
What kind of scratching post do cats prefer?
Caring for a diabetic cat gets easier with time, study shows
How to give your cat an insulin injection (iCatCare)
How to train your cat to use an asthma inhaler
Teach any cat AeroKat (iCatCare)
How to clip your cat’s claws (iCatCare)
Two people giving a cat a pill (iCatCare)
Medicating tips and tricks (Fundamentally Feline)
Comfort cats in a towel wrap (Dr. Sophia Yin)
Fresh and Fearless: Basic Grooming Made Easy (Kristi Benson)
The BooksKristi’s recommendation is Red, White and Royal Blue: A Novel by Casey McQuiston.
Zazie recommends Unbroken: My Fight for Survi
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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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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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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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
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, Michigan. She specializes in treating separation anxiety and is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT). She also g
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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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.
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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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.
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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.
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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 animal welfare. IAABC Foundation, 24 September 2022, 1:00-4:10pm PDT.
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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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.
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The Pawsitive Post In Conversation Ep 4 with special guest Jean Donaldson. #CAP10.
Zazie and Kristi are joined by Jean Donaldson, one of the world's top dog trainers, founder of the Academy for Dog Trainers, and author of Culture Clash. Zazie, Kristi, and Jean talk about what's changed for dogs over the last ten years: the move to reward-based dog training methods, increased enrichment, better education of pet guardians, and fear free veterinary care. As well, they talk about the changes they would still like to see happen.
They also talk about Dog Training 101, a 24-lesson course that Jean wrote for The Great Courses, and what students can expect from The Academy for Dog Trainers.
In the final section, they share the books they are reading right now.
Academy for Dog Trainers: https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/
The Great Courses: https://www.thegreatcourses.com/ (put 'dog' in the search bar and Dog Training 101 will come up)
Kristi Benson: http://www.kristibenson.com/
Companion Animal Psychology: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/
Books:
Life's Edge: The Search for What it Means to Be Alive by Carl Zimmer
The Anglo Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400-1066 by Marc Morris
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel
Alfabet/Alphabet: A Memoir of a First Language by Sadiqa de Meijer
Companion Animal Psychology's 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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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we talk about countering misinformation about dogs and cats with truth sandwiches. We run through some myths about dog training and cat behaviour, talk about why they are wrong, and figure out some truth sandwiches to help correct the misinformation.
We consider:
why it’s wrong to take a dominance approach to dog training
why we should use positive reinforcement rather than punishment in dog training
the myth that dogs should just fit into our lives
and why cats need to scratch.
We also talk about the (then) upcoming Management Month at the Academy for Dog Trainers, which is all about celebrating how you can sometimes use management instead of training to solve dog behaviour issues. As part of Companion Animal Psychology’s tenth anniversary celebrations, you can come to Reading Cats and Dogs: A Conversation with Lili Chin, Sassafras Lowrey, and Zazie Todd. The three authors will be reading from their books (Doggie Language, Chew This Journal, and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy) and in conversation with Kristi Benson.
Plus, in our regular slot at the end of the conversation, Kristi and I talk about the books we’re reading right now.
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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
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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.
Facebook Instagram BlueSky
