Companion Animal Psychology

The steps you can take to teach any dog to come when called and to help stop them getting lost. The Pawsitive Post in Conversation episode 10. 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 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

A new format for your favourite cat book. By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. I am so excited to share the news that my book, Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy , with a foreword by Pam Johnson-Bennett, will be published in paperback in Canada, the US, and the UK, on 6th June.  This is your chance to get the paperback edition, which is available from all good bookstores. Tell all your friends with cats!! I wrote Purr to help people with their cats and I'm so delighted with the response I've had to the hardback. I know the paperback will be able to help even more people. Here's some of the feedback I've had on Purr : "Enjoyable, approachable, easy to read. Purr is a must for anyone who shares their life with a cat."--Kate LaSala, Rescued by Training, certified trainer and behaviour consultant. "Full of great science delivered with genuine warmth and he

When introducing a puppy to cat(s) already in the home, take it slow, new research suggests. Photo: Gladskikh Tatiana/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. If you’re bringing a puppy into a home with an existing cat it’s important to do gradual introductions, according to new research by Rachel Kinsman et al, published in Animals , that investigated the factors that lead to success. Overall the results of the study are promising, even though only 7% of the puppies behaved in a completely desirable way in the presence of the cat. After all, puppies are still learning, so it’s no surprise that 93% showed some undesirable behaviours at least some of the time. But more than 25% of the puppies could be calm around the cat, and less than 2% showed signs of aggression such as growling at the cat.  Desirable behaviour was defined as being calm, uninterested, or ignoring the cat. Undesirab

The chemical signals your cat leaves behind—and how they play an important role in your cat’s relationship with their environment and you. Photo: Scalia Media/Shutterstock

A dog trainer ponders the question, somewhat retrospectively: what would it be like to be seen, or to have our dogs seen, as struggling, instead of misbehaving?  Kristi holding Wilma, who was a puppy, with Grace in an abandoned boat on the shores of Boot Lake in Inuvik, NWT. Photo: Yoenne Ewald By Kristi Benson PCBC-A, CTC, Special Correspondent One of the greatest regrets I carry is how deeply I misunderstood some of my first dog’s behaviours. She was, by and large, a happy and well-adjusted thing, with a big black blocky head and tiny black ballerina twinkle toes; a pointer-adjacent mutt who managed to glide quite delightedly through all the random things I threw at her: leaving her comfy life in the mediterranean climate of Victoria (on the southern tip of Vancouver Island here in British Columbia) for a rather lengthy stretch in the western Canadian sub-arctic where she ran—without much conviction but with a lot of joy—with a bunch of actual real-life sled dogs. Then, even more uph

Fun activities for you to try with your feline friend. Photo: Veronika Zelenina/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. If you’ve never trained one of your pets before, it can feel a bit intimidating to get started. Especially when your pet is a cat. But the good news is that despite the stereotypes, an increasing number of people are realizing that cats can be trained—and it’s fun for you and the cat. This article will look at why we should train our cats, as well as 3 easy ways to get started.  The benefits of training cats Training can have several benefits for cats. Training cats does not necessarily mean teaching them tricks—although it can do, because it can be a fun enrichment activity for you and your cat. More often, the training we do with our cats is aimed at helping the cat in their everyday life. This is especially the case with training cats to go in their cat carrier,

Kristi and I have got something exciting coming soon. By Zazie Todd PhD We’re launching a podcast about how to have a better relationship with your pet. Whether you are a pet guardian or a pet pro, we think you will enjoy it. You can look forward to the podcast having the same values that you associate with Companion Animal Psychology : a focus on reward-based training methods, as well as the importance of management and enrichment for helping our pets live happier lives. Plus, of course, it will be fun.  Some episodes will be the two of us sharing tips on dog and cat behaviour and training, while others will have special guests including authors, dog trainers, cat behaviourists, and scientists. At the end of each episode we’ll chat about the books we’re reading. If the format sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve decided to turn The Pawsitive Post in Conversation into a podcast. Maybe you have seen episodes of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation on Youtube ? The podcast will give you t