Interviews at Companion Animal Psychology
Interviews with leading scientists, authors and dog trainers that you can read here at Companion Animal Psychology, covering canine science, feline science, companion animal welfare, animal behaviour, emotions, and enrichment for cats and dogs. Full interviews are listed here; there's also a separate series called The Writer's Pet.
"It’s the fact that pets have a broad range of emotions that we need to recognize.."
"In some ways, my books can be viewed as a field guide to freedom in which I encourage people to unleash their dog as much as possible. Choosing to live with a dog (or other animal) is a "cradle to grave" commitment and we must remember that we are their lifelines."
"Don’t simply trust your gut feeling about what works as an animal advocacy technique. What we have learned from scientific research so far is that human appetites and personal motivations are well safeguarded even against the strongest arguments and most powerful or disturbing images."
"There’s all these things that are to me this shifting landscape from ‘you have your dog under your thumb’ versus ‘are you doing right by him? are you making sure that he’s happy?’"
"They are the result of a genetic experiment of domestication and boy does it work. Because these animals, they live to interact with humans."
"...it’s really about training for better welfare, to improve the well-being of the cat. Insofar as teaching the cat the key skills that they need to live in society with us. And without those skills they often struggle."
"There probably are a lot of cats that are living with us in our homes as pets that might prefer us to treat them more as an expensive lodger than a very attractive companion."
"The goldfish story to me is the best way in my mind to get across to people who aren’t necessarily even animal people... how important animals are in our life."
"One of the reasons why I study human-animal relationships is I think they offer a window into how we think about ethical issues generally... The same complications, quandaries, and paradoxes, occur in our relationships with other people as well. So one reason it’s hard to think straight about animals, one reason it’s hard to think about animals ethically, is it’s hard to think straight about many things when it comes to ethics."
"...it kind of took me by surprise in the dog world that dominance might as well be spelled with four letters, rather than however many letters are in dominance."
“A fuller understanding of the needs of dogs is integral to good living with dogs,” says Alexandra Horowitz, in this interview about dogs' sense of smell, dignity, and what happens at the dog cognition lab. Her latest book Our Dogs, Ourselves, was published in September 2019.
Photo of Alexandra Horowitz by Vegar Abelsnes.
“Individuals who’ve been traumatized have to have a safe space.”
Photo of Dr. Patricia McConnell with Skip by Steve Dahlgren.
"We just kind of take for granted that they’re going to go along with things. And slowing down is as good for us as it is for the dogs."
"I would always recommend, if there’s fear and aggression there, for clients to get professional help because a professional is going to get them through the protocol so much faster and more efficiently than trying to do it themselves."
"Scent work isn’t for every dog. Not every dog was meant to be a cadaver dog or a something else dog. Solo was a happy accident."
"However, nobody had ever asked victims why they thought they were bitten, and why they do stupid things to dogs. How can we begin to understand how to change people’s behaviour, unless we find out why they behave in this way?"
"The dog is a highly social living being that needs to have company or else it’s going to be in psychological distress."
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Dr. Marty Becker
"It’s the fact that pets have a broad range of emotions that we need to recognize.."
Dr. Marc Bekoff
Interview with Marc Bekoff on Canine Confidential.
"In some ways, my books can be viewed as a field guide to freedom in which I encourage people to unleash their dog as much as possible. Choosing to live with a dog (or other animal) is a "cradle to grave" commitment and we must remember that we are their lifelines."
Lili Chin
“I hope that this book will help people see that their dogs are communicating
all the time, and that they’re worth listening to.”
"Certainly in my personal conversations, the question that gets people most concerned is what happens to the unsuccessful dogs? Because generally more than half of the dogs bred for working and sporting roles aren’t fast enough or successful enough in training."
Mia Cobb
"Certainly in my personal conversations, the question that gets people most concerned is what happens to the unsuccessful dogs? Because generally more than half of the dogs bred for working and sporting roles aren’t fast enough or successful enough in training."
Malena DeMartini
“Separation anxiety is fixable... If people just understood that this is
fixable, and it gave them that hope, that would make me thrilled.”
Kristof Dhont and Gordon Hodson
Why We Love and Exploit Animals: An interview with Kristof Dhont and Gordon Hodson.
"Don’t simply trust your gut feeling about what works as an animal advocacy technique. What we have learned from scientific research so far is that human appetites and personal motivations are well safeguarded even against the strongest arguments and most powerful or disturbing images."
Jean Donaldson
"There’s all these things that are to me this shifting landscape from ‘you have your dog under your thumb’ versus ‘are you doing right by him? are you making sure that he’s happy?’"
Dr. Lee Dugatkin
"They are the result of a genetic experiment of domestication and boy does it work. Because these animals, they live to interact with humans."
Dr. Sarah Ellis
"...it’s really about training for better welfare, to improve the well-being of the cat. Insofar as teaching the cat the key skills that they need to live in society with us. And without those skills they often struggle."
Dr. Lauren Finka
Interview with Dr. Lauren Finka about The Cat Personality Test
"There probably are a lot of cats that are living with us in our homes as pets that might prefer us to treat them more as an expensive lodger than a very attractive companion."
Jesse Freidin and Dr. Robert Garofalo
When Dogs Heal: Interview with Jesse Freidin and Dr. Robert Garofalo.
"By loving our
dogs we are in turn learning to love ourselves. And by loving ourselves,
even through sickness and trauma and stigma, we can survive."
Dr. Mark Goldstein
Interview with Dr. Mark Goldstein
"The goldfish story to me is the best way in my mind to get across to people who aren’t necessarily even animal people... how important animals are in our life."
Prof. Hal Herzog
Interview with Prof. Hal Herzog.
"One of the reasons why I study human-animal relationships is I think they offer a window into how we think about ethical issues generally... The same complications, quandaries, and paradoxes, occur in our relationships with other people as well. So one reason it’s hard to think straight about animals, one reason it’s hard to think about animals ethically, is it’s hard to think straight about many things when it comes to ethics."
Dr. Christy Hoffman
Interview with Dr. Christy Hoffman.
"...it kind of took me by surprise in the dog world that dominance might as well be spelled with four letters, rather than however many letters are in dominance."
Dr. Alexandra Horowitz
Interview with Dr. Alexandra Horowitz on Our Dogs, Ourselves
“A fuller understanding of the needs of dogs is integral to good living with dogs,” says Alexandra Horowitz, in this interview about dogs' sense of smell, dignity, and what happens at the dog cognition lab. Her latest book Our Dogs, Ourselves, was published in September 2019.
Photo of Alexandra Horowitz by Vegar Abelsnes.
Oluademi James-Daniel
“Representation is a huge part of inclusivity because if you don’t see yourself in the venue that you want to be a part of, it’s really hard to want to be a part of it.”
Sassafras Lowrey
“Chew This Journal really came out of a desire to support people
having more fun with their dogs and to make everyday interactions as
enriching as possible.”
Dr. Patricia McConnell
Interview with Dr. Patricia McConnell about The Education of Will
“Individuals who’ve been traumatized have to have a safe space.”
Photo of Dr. Patricia McConnell with Skip by Steve Dahlgren.
Lori Nanan
Interview with Lori Nanan.
"We just kind of take for granted that they’re going to go along with things. And slowing down is as good for us as it is for the dogs."
Jane Sigsworth
Interview with Jane Sigsworth.
"I would always recommend, if there’s fear and aggression there, for clients to get professional help because a professional is going to get them through the protocol so much faster and more efficiently than trying to do it themselves."
Cat Warren
Interview with Cat Warren
"Scent work isn’t for every dog. Not every dog was meant to be a cadaver dog or a something else dog. Solo was a happy accident."
Dr. Carri Westgarth
"However, nobody had ever asked victims why they thought they were bitten, and why they do stupid things to dogs. How can we begin to understand how to change people’s behaviour, unless we find out why they behave in this way?"
Prof. Clive Wynne
An interview with Clive Wynne about Dog is Love
"The dog is a highly social living being that needs to have company or else it’s going to be in psychological distress."
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an Etsy affiliate, I earn from qualifying Etsy purchases.
