Companion Animal Psychology

Cats high on catnip, the heritage of mutts, and sunk costs for mice - don't miss a thing with the latest news 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. “It takes patience to let the student run the show.” The pause that refreshes by Patricia McConnell PhD .  “You know exactly what I'm talking about. There's a dog. Right there, right in front of you.” 10 things to do instead of patting that service dog by Kristi Benson CTC . “Experts did little better than dog lovers — and nobody did very well — when asked to describe the heritage of various mutts.” What breeds make up this mutt? By James Gorman at NY Times. Can we ever really know if animals are happy?   Anna Brooks  tackles an important question. "Like so many other humans, you might find cats to be mysterious creatures. Bu

Lori Nanan on training dogs to love nail trims and why slowing down is good for us. 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 wrote about desensitization and counter-conditioning in dog training , an important technique to help fearful dogs . Lori Nanan’s course Nailed It! shows people how to use this technique to teach dogs to love having their nails trimmed. I caught up with Lori to find out more. Zazie: Why did you decide to write the course? Lori: It started a few years ago. I had a dog, Rocco, who for his entire life nail care was pretty traumatic. I was never able to make it right and it really kind of ate away at me for most of his life. And when we brought Hazel home, I was sort of determined that that would never be the case for any other dog of mine. So I guess in 2014, 2015 I wrote a blog where I laid out steps that I followed in a training to plan to get Haz

A user-friendly guide to desensitization and counter-conditioning for fearful dogs. Photo: Alzbeta / Shutterstock

Hal Herzog on our complicated relationship with animals – and what it says about being human. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Prof. Hal Herzog’s fascinating book, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals was the Companion Animal Psychology Book Club choice for June 2018. I was thrilled to interview him about the book – and book club members asked some questions too. A second edition of the book is out now! Zazie: Many people have said the book is fascinating, and some have said it’s disturbing as well. Hal: Oh good! Well that’s what I was going for! Zazie: I think it’s because of what you refer to as “flagrant moral incoherence” when it comes to animals. Why is our relationship with animals so complicated? Hal: That’s the whole theme of the book really. There’s a couple of answers to that. One is that when it co

Two new posts on dog training and pet behavior problems over at my Psychology Today blog Fellow Creatures . 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 first, Does owner personality affect dog training methods? , looks at intriguing findings from a recent study of personality, punishment in dog training, and dog behavior. Photo: Wyatt Ryan/Unsplash Meanwhile, Pet behaviour problems: In the eye of the beholder? looks at the factors that influence whether we consider a pet's behaviour issue to be a problem. Photo: Shannon Richards/Unsplash Have a great weekend. And Happy Canada Day!   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 column at Psychology

Make sure you haven't missed a thing with the latest round-up about dogs and cats 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. Homeless people and their pets: ‘She saved me as much as I saved her.’ First-hand accounts in The Guardian of how much pets mean to homeless people in the US. “She wakes up so excited every morning and gets so happy about the littlest thing, like rolling around in the grass or even just the weather being nice. Seeing her like that reminds me to stay happy for simple things too.” Dogs and humans have similar social and emotional brains . Dr. Carlo Siracusa of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists says dogs struggle in a society they don’t always understand. “They are attached to humans and willing to share their lives, but they want to feel safe in an environm

A review of the scientific research finds there are risks to using electronic collars in dog training and says it's time for a ban on their use. Photo: Parilov/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. Last year, a position statement from the European College of Veterinary Clinical Ethology argued against the use of electronic shock collars in dog training and for a Europe-wide ban on their sale and use.  Now an article in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour by Dr. Sylvia Masson et al explains the reasons behind their position that shock collars should not be used. When people use electronic collars, it is typically as positive punishment to punish a dog for an unwanted behaviour. They are also sometimes used as negative reinforcement by applying the shock until the dog does the behaviour that is wanted. These days many elect