Companion Animal Psychology

The year in review at Companion Animal Psychology and the most popular dog and cat posts of 2022.  Photo: vubaz/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. It’s always fun to look back on the year and see which posts were the most popular. For me, the highlight of the year was the publication of my second book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy . Thank you to everyone who has supported the book including everyone in the Purr Party. It’s been especially nice to receive notes of thanks from readers for the tips included in Purr and to see photos of people’s cats with the book.  Melina with a copy of Purr This year I was lucky to publish some wonderful guest posts by  Dr. Katherine Cronin ;  Koltan Nelson ;  and  Izzy Swanston, Sienna Taylor, and Ben Brilot . I’m delighted that two of these have made it into the year’s top 10. A copy of Purr (and loo...

I've got a new post over on my Psychology Today blog, Fellow Creatures .  Photo: Mathieu Gervais/Pexels By Zazie Todd PhD It looks at the fact that our pets--dogs and cats--are always learning. Of course we know we're training our dog in an official training session, but actually they're learning all the time. And so are cats, despite their reputation. Which sometimes means we teach our pets to do things we would really rather they didn't. Read the post here: Every interaction with your pet is a training opportunity . 

Season's Greetings from Companion Animal Psychology. Photo: woodHunt/Shutterstock, text Zazie Todd Thank you for all of your support this year. Wishing you and your family a wonderful festive season and all the best for 2023. Zazie Zazie Todd PhD

I've got a new post on my Fellow Creatures blog that looks at happy dog walks for you and the dog.  Skyler Ewing/Pexels By Zazie Todd PhD Do you hate it when people say "Who's walking who?" The post looks at why it's best if dog walks are good for both the person and the dog, and has some tips on keeping both of you happy. Read it here: "Who's walking who?" Happy walks with your dog . 

The books I enjoyed the most this year include books about dogs and cats, plus non-fiction, some great novels, and poetry.  Photo: Irina Kozorog/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Which books are you giving as gifts this year—and which ones are you hoping to receive? These are some of the books I have enjoyed this year (not necessarily published this year). I'm also sharing the books I’m looking forward to digging into over the holidays.  I’ll start with the animal books before including my selections of poetry, nonfiction, and novels.  The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves chronicles the first year in the life of Alexandra Horowitz’s puppy Quiddity. All of Horowitz's dog books are essential reading, and this one is no exception. Absolutely delightful. Wonderdog: The Science of Dogs and Their Unique Friendship with Humans by Jules Howard is a fantast...

I've got a new post on my Fellow Creatures blog at Psych Today . Cong H/Pexels By Zazie Todd PhD People often think of cats as easy pets, but is it really true? My new post looks at this idea, and at how it's better for our kitties if we actually do a bit more for them. You can read the post here: Why it doesn't help to think of cats as easy pets . 

"Will cause readers to think deeply about big questions...and to laugh out loud."--Hal Herzog, author of Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat. By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. This month, the Animal Book Club is reading If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity by Justin Gregg. From the publisher, "If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal overturns everything we thought we knew about human intelligence, and asks the question: would humans be better off as narwhals? Or some other, less brainy species? There’s a good argument to be made that humans might be a less successful animal species precisely because of our amazing, complex intelligence. "All our unique gifts like language, math, and science do not make us happier or more “successful” (evolutionarily speaking) than other species. Our intelligence allowed us to split the atom, b...

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation No. 7 with special guest Jane Wolff of Good Wolff Dog Training. Clockwise from top left: Zazie Todd, Jane Wolff, Kristi Benson By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Watch episode 7 of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation on Youtube or below. You can also watch previous episodes of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation  if you'd like to. Please subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology on Youtube to make sure you don't miss future videos. 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 wit...

Get 15% off all Companion Animal Psychology merch with promo code BLACKFRI valid until midnight PT on 28th November 2022. By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Get 15% off all Companion Animal Psychology merch including hoodies, zip hoodies, sweatshirts, tees, fanny packs and drinkware. Use promo code BLACKFRI valid until midnight PT on Monday 28th November 2022.  There are new designs as well as some new colours on existing designs. Check out all of the designs in the Companion Animal Psychology merch store .  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an Etsy affiliate and Marks and Spencer affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I spoke about dogs with Jim Mora for Radio New Zealand's Sunday Morning --and then came back to answer listeners' questions.  By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Recently, I chatted all about dogs with Jim Mora for Radio New Zealand's Sunday Morning. We talked about my book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy , the importance of reward-based training and enrichment for your dog, and the relationship between dogs and their people. You can listen to that interview here: Dr. Zazie Todd: how we know your dog loves you . Then I came back to answer listeners' questions about dogs. We didn't manage to fit them all in, but we covered lots of topics from dog training treats and the best ways to train your dog or deal with behaviour issues and what kind of dog is best for you.  You can listen to that interview here: Zazie Todd: your dog questions answered .  If you missed my...

I spoke about cats with Sheryl MacKay on CBC Radio's North By NorthWest. Photo: Robert Petrovic/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Recently, I chatted with Sheryl MacKay on CBC Radio's North by NorthWest. We talked about cats (including my own cats), my book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy , and what cat guardians should know. You can listen to the recording here . My interview starts around the 53 minute mark. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an Etsy affiliate and Marks and Spencer affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

New research shows that cats have an individual response to catnip and other cat-attracting plants like silvervine and that, unlike big cats, they don’t care for perfumes like Obsession for Men. A cat chews on a silvervine stick. Photo: Abigail Crawford. By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. If your cat likes catnip, you’ll have seen them sniff it, lick it, roll around on it or near it, and otherwise seem ecstatic in response to a toy containing fresh catnip. Then, after a while, the effect wears off. Research has shown that cats can respond in a similar way to several other substances : valerian, Tatarian honeysuckle, and silver vine (known as matatabi in Japan).   Now, a new study by Dr. Sebastiaan Bol et al. published in BMC Biology takes this research a step further by investigating exactly how cats behave in response to catnip and similar plants. The results show that each cat h...

"Turning wolves into dogs took knowledge, insight and a few cheeky treats along the way. This book contains all three, and is the perfect companion to any dog lover." -- Ben Garrod. By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. This month, the Animal Book Club is reading Wonderdog: The Science of Dogs and Their Unique Friendship with Humans by Jules Howard.  From the publisher: "A celebration of dogs, the scientists who've lived alongside them, and how canines have been key to advancements in science for the betterment of all species.  Almost everywhere there are humans on planet Earth, there are dogs. But what do dogs know and understand of the world? Do their emotions feel like our own? Do they love like we do? What do they think of us? Since our alliance first began on the hunt and on the farm, our relationship with dogs has evolved considerably. And with domestic dog populatio...

Not “Sit, Sit, Sit” but “Rewards are the best way to train your dog…” Phot: Medenka Nera/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Do you ever feel like you are saying the same thing over and over again? Do you ever think about whether or not it’s useful? I’m not talking about those times when you see someone repeating a cue to their dog over and over while the dog keeps on doing something else. That’s not a good idea because the dog is simply learning to ignore you. (Instead, say the cue like “Sit” once, then wait, and the instant your dog sits give them a tasty treat as a reward). I’m talking about training methods. Repetition on dog training methods It’s important to use reward-based methods to train your dog because there are risks to aversive methods ( positive punishment and negative reinforcement ). Plus, reward-based training can be a fun enrichment activity that improves yo...

Training your dog to search for a scent isn't as hard as you might think—and it's great enrichment for your dog. Photo: Barb Elkin/Shutterstock By Izzy Swanston, Sienna Taylor, and Ben Brilot This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. There’s no doubt that dogs have amazing noses. For example, dogs have 300 million scent receptors compared to our measly 5 million (Else, 2020) and possess the ability to detect odours at concentrations of up to 500 parts-per-trillion (Johnson, 1999)—the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar in two Olympic sized swimming pools of water.  We use dogs’ noses as biosensors for the detection of all sorts of things: explosives, bodies, drugs, cancers (Beebe, Howell and Bennett, 2016) and cryptic wildlife and/or their faeces (Karp, 2020). But the more we learn to understand our dog’s needs, the more scent work is being used not just for our benefit but also as a form of enrichment to b...

“Equal parts science and doggy diary, [The Year of the Puppy] charts how our irresistible fur babies develop personality.”—People.  By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. This month, the Animal Book Club is reading The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves by Alexandra Horowitz. From the publisher, “Few of us meet our dogs at Day One. The dog who will, eventually, become an integral part of our family, our constant companion and best friend, is born without us into a family of her own. A puppy's critical early development into the dog we come to know is usually missed entirely. Dog researcher Alexandra Horowitz aimed to change that with her family's new pup, Quiddity (Quid). In this scientific memoir, she charts Quid's growth from wee grub to boisterous sprite, from her birth to her first birthday. Horowitz follows Quid's first weeks with her mother and ten roly-poly l...