Companion Animal Psychology

A virtual event with Zazie Todd about how to make your dog happy, hosted by the Hub City Writer's Project. On July 21st at 7pm (Eastern time), the Hub City Writer's Project in Spartanburg, SC, is hosting a virtual event: I will be giving a talk about how to make your dog happy. The ticket price includes a copy of my book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, mailed to your door. I am sending some signed bookplates to the store to go with the books. You can find more information and get a ticket here . This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 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 Today . Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, on

Why it's buyer beware when it comes to puppies. By Zazie Todd, PhD I have a new post on my Psychology Today blog, Fellow Creatures . Two recent news stories highlight the need to be careful when getting a puppy in order to avoid puppies from puppy mills and being scammed. The post considers what to look for in a responsible breeder. As well it mentions some of the warning signs to be careful of if you're getting a puppy. Check it out: Why it's buyer beware when it comes to puppies. Photo: Chevanon Photography/Pexels This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. 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 Today . Todd lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with h

Three tips from my book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. When I was writing my book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy , I wanted to make it as practical as possible. So I included a set of tips at the end of every chapter (except chapter one). Three of those tips are shown in these graphics. Tip no. 73 is: If your dog has a behavior problem, don't use punishment. It does not teach your dog what to do instead of the problem behavior, and it interfere's with the dog's feeling of safety. Tip no 7 is: Give the puppy a choice, encourage (don't force) them, and protect a shy puppy. Remember that socialization means giving your dog happy, positive experiences. As you can tell from the numbers, there are many such tips in the book! Tip no 36 is: Understand that you're important to your dog. Y

Chronicling the history of diversity within Animal Behaviour Science and the Animal Behavior Society. By Zazie  Todd, PhD I have a new post on my Psychology Today blog, Fellow Creatures. It looks at some new historical research by Dr. Danielle N. Lee on the contributions of under-represented minorities to animal behaviour science, and the people who showed leadership in improving diversity and inclusion within the field. The post includes the amazing contributions of Charles Henry Turner, the first African American to get a PhD from the University of  Chicago, through to the present-day scholars who are making their mark on the field itself and on diversity and inclusion within the discipline. You can read it here: Pioneers, mentors, and diversity in animal behavior science . Photo:  Tolu Bamwo/Nappy  This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Wag: The

Dogs helping with archaeological digs and understanding cats' body language in the latest news from CAP. By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. My Favourites This Month “Nonetheless, the archaeologists dug. And dug. They went down nearly three feet — and there they found a human toe bone more than 1,300 years old”. When cadaver dogs pick up a scent, archaeologists know where to dig by Cat Warren . “Fostering cats is one of the few unambiguously positive things I’ve done in my life.” In 18 months we’ve had 30 cats – and it’s been wonderful by Tom Hawking . “Dominance "training" causes stress and is a dog's worst nightmare” says Dr. Marc Bekoff in his post, Dominant alpha humans don’t garner dogs’ respect and trust (I am quoted in this one). “But while losing weight is relatively easy in the short run, keeping it off is difficult and, for many people, it is

Despite common belief, owned dogs escaping from yards – not free-roaming dogs – are the main risk for dog bites in Detroit. Photo: Carla Burke/Pixabay By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Dog bites can have serious consequences and so understanding the circumstances in which they occur is important. New research by Dr. Laura Reese and Dr. Joshua Vertalka (Michigan State University) and published in Animals looks at the factors involved in all of the dog bites reported to police in Detroit from 2007 to 2015. It’s important to note that Detroit is a special case, as unlike many other cities in the USA, it has a free-roaming (i.e. unowned) dog population, on whom bites are often blamed. At the same time, the effects of poverty and economic malaise in Detroit mean that foreclosures and vacancies have created circumstances in which there are many stray dogs, an environment in which the

Does it seem that your cat is always napping? Here’s how much sleep the average cat gets, and how to choose a cat bed. Photo: Koldunov Alexey/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. “Cats sleep, anywhere,” by Eleanor Farjeon was a favourite poem when I was a child. We see cats sleeping in so many places. My cat Harley’s favourite places are stretched out in the sunshine by a window, on his back on the heat vent with his paws in the air, up in his favourite cat tree, or on our bed (often cuddled up to my feet). My other cat Melina likes what used to be my dog’s bed (though she avoided it for a few days after he passed), and she has a couple of chairs that she particularly likes to sleep on. How Much Do Cats Sleep? Cats are said to be naturally crepuscular, meaning they are more active at dawn and dusk. This makes sense because t