Companion Animal Psychology

Dogs fall asleep faster but get less deep sleep after a bad experience compared to after a good experience. Photo: Karen Laventure (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. We all know the feeling when something bad happens in the day and then we just can’t sleep at night. It turns out that, just like humans, dogs’ sleep is affected by bad experiences – but the effects are not quite the same. A new paper by Dr. Anna Kis ( Hungarian Academy of Sciences ) (including members of the Family Dog Project ) took EEG measurements of dogs sleeping after a good or bad experience. While humans take longer to fall asleep after a bad day, the dogs fell asleep more quickly after a bad experience than after a good one. This is thought to be a protective response to stress. But, just like humans, dogs did not sleep as well after the bad experience, showing their sleep was disturbed.

Companion Animal Psychology is a finalist in the People’s Choice Award for Canada’s Favourite Science Blog. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Companion Animal Psychology is one of three finalists in the People’s Choice Award for Canada’s Favourite Science Blog. It is a real honour and I am thrilled. Thank you very much for your support! And thank you to Science Borealis and Science Writers and Communicators of Canada for organizing the competition. The winner will be announced on Thursday November 2nd. Check out the other two finalists, The Body of Evidence and Art the Science .  You can read about all the finalists in the Science Borealis announcement here , and you can also see the three science website finalists there. And you follow on twitter with the hashtag #CdnSciFav. Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happ

Everything you need to know about the use of positive punishment in dog training. Photo: JJ Photographer/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     Get Companion Animal Psychology in your inbox. If you are a new dog owner, or even if you’ve been around dogs  for a while, this article is for you. It covers the technical definition of positive punishment, examples of what it is, what we know about the risks of using it and what professional organizations advise. Let’s get the technical definition out of the way first. What is positive punishment in dog training? You’ll have noticed I said positive punishment instead of just punishment. In everyday language, we often say punishment when what we technically mean is positive punishment. We can also have negative punishment, but that will be the topic of another post. Punishment means something that reduces the likelihood

Make sure you  haven't missed a thing with the latest newsletter from Companion Animal Psychology. By Zazie Todd, PhD Some of my favourites from around the web this month This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Kate Mornement PhD has written a great series about enrichment, starting with Wild at Heart: Why enrichment is essential for your pets’ well-being and with lots of ideas for enrichment for dogs   and for cats . "Laterality is an ancient inherited characteristic and is widespread in the animal kingdom, in both vertebrates and invertebrates."  I’ve always wondered: can animals be left- and right-pawed? Janice Lloyd and Richard Squires at The Conversation. "If a cat is on an elevated surface and there are small objects on there as well, he often can’t resist the urge to use his paw to push something over the edge." Something many cat owners want to know: Why does my ca

You can help the animals at the BC SPCA Maple Ridge by donating to Lock-In for Love. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. The animals are getting worried. On Sunday, October 22nd, staff, volunteers and local celebrities will be locked into kennels with a furry friend. They have to raise bail money to get out. All of the funds raised will help the BC SPCA Maple Ridge. But what if they don’t raise bail? The animals are worried their dinners may be late… You can help now by going to the Lock-In for Love webpage , click the name of one of the fundraisers in the scrolling bar on the right, and donate. 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, writes The Pawsitive Post premium newsletter, and also has a colu

Two posts look at dog walking behaviour and my personal favourite blog posts. 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 week I have two new posts for you. At my Psychology Today blog Fellow Creatures, I look at some new research on the links between dog ownership, dog walking, physical health, and the human-animal bond. “What I was excited about were the associations we found between the strength of the bond with the dog and dog-walking behaviour,” said Dr. Jessica Bibbo, one of the authors of the study. Read the full story here . And in a guest post for Dr. Jo Righetti’s Pet Problems Solved, I share my five favourite Companion Animal Psychology articles. These are the posts I wish everyone would read about cats, dogs, and how best to care for them. Find out which ones I chose here . Photo: atiger/Shutterstock. Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Wag: Th

Cats like somewhere to hide - and research shows a cardboard box can be the simple solution. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. How do we know what types of enrichment are most important to cats? A new study by Dr. Jacklyn Ellis (University of Prince Edward Island) et al tests shelter cats’ preferences. The results show the importance of a simple cardboard box for kitty cats . What is environmental enrichment for cats? Environmental enrichment involves adding something to the cat’s environment that is good for its welfare. Enrichment can be especially important for cats in shelters since the environment is stressful for them, away from their familiar home and with the presence of unknown cats and people, and perhaps with dogs in earshot too. But it's important for our cats at home too. There are many ways to provide enrichment for cats , including vertical space , olfactory