Human-animal behavior research and education has grown significantly over the past decade. One person who has stayed on top of these developments has been Zazie Todd, PhD, a psychologist, trainer, behaviorist, and writer. Through her website, Companion Animal Psychology, Zazie has written since 2012 about the ways science can help our animal companions have happier lives through digestible insights that everyone can understand. She writes a regular series for Psychology Today today too, called Fellow Creatures, exploring the social world of people and animals. She has also now written three books about the science behind our dogs' emotions.
In this episode, we hear from Zazie about her thoughts on better understanding the anxiety and fear of dogs at any given age, and why positive reinforcement is important.
For more information about the episode, guest, and featured links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/zazie-todd-2024
Lisa Jhung is a freelancer outdoors writer, author, and editor. She writes a regular column about outdoor adventure gear for Outside Magazine and has also written extensively for Runner’s World. Dogs have been a constant in her life through early childhood and now as a mother. One particular way she has always loved to spend time with a dog is being out in nature. Whether running on trails or even going for a morning walk, dogs bring their joy to life to the activity, and Lisa feels it is contagious. As a writer, Lisa also feels that a dog’s company is important in her creative process.
For more information about the episode, guest, and featured links: www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/lisa-jhung-2024
Tom Turcich is an adventure photographer and author. In his new memoir, The World Walk, he writes about being one of 10 people to ever walk around the globe. His dog and travel buddy, Savannah, was the first to do so. Tom is a former guest of the show and returns to discuss adjusting to life back home in the US after being on the road for almost 7 years and writing a memoir about his worldwide travels. He also opens up about grieving for his beloved canine companion, Savannah, who unexpectedly passed away in recent months. Now faced with a new chapter ahead with unexpected directions, Tom is trying to embrace the power of consistency that he learned from Savannah, which was to do his best each day, and not let anything stop him from reaching his goals.
For more information about the episode, guest, and featured links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/tom-turcich-2024
Vanessa Woods is the Director of Duke University’s Puppy Kindergarten program, which studies what qualities are important in becoming a great service dog. The program is funded by the National Institute of Health and works with puppies from Canine Companions, the largest service dog provider in the United States. While this is primarily intended to learn what makes the best service dogs, it has also been informative about all dogs.
Her husband, Brian Hare, is the Founder of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, the first academic program dedicated to studying dogs in the country. Together they co-wrote a new book, called Puppy Kindergarten, where they take the valuable lessons learned from their years of research studying service dogs as the ideal model for how dogs live with us in today's culture. They share tips, activity ideas, and more insights on for all dog parents raising puppies.Their goal is to help everyone develop a happier and healthier relationship with their dogs from a young age, which carries on throughout the rest of their lives.
For more information about the episode, guest, and featured links: www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/vanessa-woods-2024