Companion Animal Psychology

These were the most popular pieces on the blog and podcast in 2025. Photo: Melinda Nagy/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD It's always interesting looking back to see which pieces resonated with you in the past 12 months. For me personally, highlights included being interviewed by The Guardian/Observer , appearing again on Radio New Zealand's Sunday Morning with Jim Mora , and my book Bark! appearing--more than once--on Coronation Street . (Seriously, I am glued to the show at the moment!).  These were the blog posts, podcasts, and videos that resonated with readers, listeners, and viewers this year. Scroll down to read, listen, and watch. And don't miss our just-released Holiday Special with Jo Wimpenny PhD, Marc Bekoff PhD, and Erica Beckwith ( listen ​ or ​ watch ​ ). Thank you to everyone who has supported Companion Animal Psychology this year and helped make all of this possible. You're the best! Bark! in the library box in Roy's Rolls on Coronation Street The...

In this special episode, Zazie and Kristi are joined by popular guests from previous episodes to chat about all things animal behaviour, including dogs, cats, ants, penguins, and crows. By Zazie Todd, PhD This post contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Watch episode 48 of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation on Youtube or below, listen wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or below.  The Pawsitive Post Holiday Special Zazie and Kristi are joined by special guests Jo Wimpenny PhD, Marc Bekoff PhD, and Erica Beckwith CTC to chat about all things animal behaviour, including teacher ants, clever crows, provoked penguins, and of course dogs and cats. We talk about: with Jo Wimpenny, PhD, author of Aesop's Animals , we talk about The Ant and the Grasshopper and how we know whether or not animals can plan ahead--plus we get exciting news about her next book Zazie and Kristi chat about their highlights of t...

Season's greetings from Companion Animal Psychology. Photo: Lugon Stock/Shutterstock Thank you for your support and encouragement throughout the year. Wishing you Happy Holidays and good health, peace, love, and joy in 2026. Zazie P.S. Don't miss the special holiday episode of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation that will publish tomorrow!

Alison Pearce Stevens tells me why she wrote her book Detective Dogs and how dogs' noses can help protect wild spaces by sniffing out invasive species. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Detective Dogs: How Working Dogs Sniff Out Invasive Species is the latest from Alison Pearce Stevens. It's a fascinating (and fun) account of the work of conservation dogs, written for middle graders but honestly of interest to adults too! We get to see the dogs at work and learn about the difference they make. The text is accompanied by photos of dogs in the field, most of which Alison took herself while researching the book. I asked Alison to tell me about Detective Dogs .  Why did you write this book? Functioning ecosystems are essential—we’re completely dependent on them, but many people don’t realize this, and our natural spaces don’t get much attention. I’m working to change that by showcas...

Two new posts at Psychology Today look at important issues for animal welfare. Photo: congerdesign/Pixabay By Zazie Todd, PhD I've got two new posts on my Psychology Today blog, Fellow Creatures , that look at different aspects of welfare for dogs and cats. The first is about those supposedly cute videos on social media that are really painful to watch if you know anything about cat or dog body language. Scientists studied a set of popular dog and cat videos to see what kind of harms they showed. You can read it here: Those "cute" animal videos aren't so cute after all . The other post looks at a new tool called the innate health assessment. It's for anyone thinking of getting a dog or puppy. It's a simple checklist, complete with an illustrative diagram, that can be used to assess the innate health of a dog (for puppies, you would apply it to both parents). A score of 8 out of 10 is a pass, and it's meant to make finding a healthy dog much easier. Read ...

Zazie Todd and Kristi Benson were joined by special guest Carri Westgarth to answer your questions about dog bites. 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 the conversation on Youtube or below, listen wherever you get your podcasts ( Apple , Spotify ) or below, or scroll down to read a transcript of the highlights. Ask Me Anything about Dog Bites Zazie and Kristi are joined by Prof. Carri Westgarth to answer your questions about dog bites, how to avoid getting bitten by a dog, and what to do if you have been bitten by a dog. We talked about:     Why dogs bite     How to use management to keep people safe from dogs     How to keep children safe from dog bites     What to do if a loose dog charges you      How to regain trust if your own dog has bitten you     The difference between predatory behaviour and fear aggressi...