The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC
  • 5.0 (1)
  • PETS & ANIMALS
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

The show about how to have a better relationship with your dog or cat. Get tips on dog training, dog behaviour, cat behaviour and training, learn about the science on dogs and cats, and find out which books we're reading (animal-related and more generally). Kind, humane, reward-based training methods only. Hosted by Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC of Companion Animal Psychology blog. Made in Canada.

  1. 2D AGO

    Why we should love the beasties with Dr. Jo Wimpenny

    Leave us a voicemail! Zazie and Kristi chat with Dr. Jo Wimpenny, author of Beauty of the Beasts, to learn more about wasps, mosquitoes, vultures, sharks, and other unloved animals. We talk about:- why Jo wanted to write about the beastieshow everything is connectedthe value of wasps and mosquitoes to the ecosystemhow sharks are not necessarily out to get people (even if sometimes they are)whether some animals are over-ratedwhich animal Jo most loved writing aboutand finally Jo told us which book she's been reading. Beauty of the Beasts: Rethinking Nature's Least Loved Animals is available wherever books are sold. The book Jo recommended to us is The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay. Previous episodes with Jo: The Holiday Special 2025 (Ep48)Animal minds and our favourite fables (Ep15) Also mentioned: Kristi's blog post on making a living in the world. Jo Wimpenny is a zoologist and writer, with a research background in animal behaviour and the history of science. She studied Zoology at the University of Bristol, and went on to research problem-solving in crows for her DPhil at Oxford University. She’s the author of Aesop’s Animals, which we’ve talked about with her before, and her new book which is just out now is Beauty of the Beasts: Rethinking Nature’s Least Loved Animals. Jo's website: https://jowimpenny.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jowimpenny/ Support the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    37 min

  2. APR 14

    Can pet dogs sniff out an invasive species? with Melissa McCue-McGrath

    Leave us a voicemail! Can pet dogs use their nose to find the eggs of an invasive species, the spotted lanternfly--and what was it like taking part in citizen science to find out? Zazie and Kristi are joined by dog trainer and author Melissa McCue-McGrath to learn all about this fun project. We also learn about Melissa's book, Misadventures of the World's Okayest Dog Trainer. We talk about: the nose work classes that Melissa teacheswhy the spotted lanternfly is such a problemwhy Melissa wanted to take part in citizen sciencethe real life issues that affected the projectthe training that they did with the dogsthe field trials at the end of the projectthe real world applications and why it was fun to be part of itwhat Melissa would say to someone considering signing up for a citizen science project with their dogwhy Melissa wrote her new book and what it's aboutMisadventures of the World's Okayest Dog Trainer is available wherever books are sold.  Also mentioned: BewilderBeasts podcastMelissa's interview on DogCast radioThe Accidental Veterinarian by Philipp SchottTell Me Where it Hurts by Nick TroutBark! Fest with Philipp SchottVictoria Stilwell AcademyThe books that Melissa recommended are Away To Me by Patricia McConnell and The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. Melissa McCue-McGrath is a professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant. She is a faculty advisor for the Victoria Stilwell Academy and she is the first non-UK person to be accredited with PACT. She’s the author of Considerations for the City Dog, and her new book, Misadventures of the World’s Okayest Dog Trainer, is just out now. If you liked this, you might also like: Why you and your dog will love nose work wiSupport the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    54 min

  3. MAR 31

    Senior dogs and young dogs living together: How to keep everyone safe and happy

    Leave us a voicemail! Content warning: The books section at the end of the episode includes subject matter that may be distressing. Having both a senior dog and a young dog in the same home can be wonderful, revitalizing the older dog and providing company for the younger dog. But it can also have its challenges. Zazie and Kristi talk about how to make sure everyone is happy and stays safe. We talk about: How training can help when you have both an old dog and a young dog or puppyWhat to consider when deciding whether to bring a young dog into your home when you have a senior dogWhether bringing a young dog into the home can be beneficial for an old dogWhat kinds of issues people can have in this situationWhen to seek help from a dog trainer for your dog-dog issuesManagement options that can make a difference and help to prevent issues from arisingWe also discuss Zazie's book Bark!s win in the DWAA awards and Zazie shows Kristi her medalAnd finally we chat about the books we've been reading The webinar that Kristi is presenting for the Pet Professional Guild is called Mixing Young Dogs and Senior Dogs: Management, Safety, and Training on April 8 2026. https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/webinars-events/webinars/mixing-young-and-senior-dogs-management-safety-and-training-with-kristi-benson/ Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is available wherever books are sold. https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/p/books.html The Dog Writers Association of America competition details: https://dogwriters.org/winners/ The books we recommend in this episode are: Consent: A Memoir by Vanessa Springora trans Natasha LehrerPeople of Means: A Novel by Nancy JohnsonSupport the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    37 min

  4. MAR 17

    How to help your dog behave with guests with Jeff Millman

    Leave us a voicemail! How can you help your dog to like it--and behave well--when visitors come to your home? Zazie and Kristi are joined by dog trainer Jeff Millman, author of Triggers and Reactions: A Guide to Fixing Your Dog Behavior Problems, to chat about this common issue. We talk about: Why having your dog jump on guests is in some ways a nice problem to haveThe behaviours we can teach them to do insteadThe signs to look for that would suggest that your dog is shy or fearful of guestsHow to use management when guests come overUnderstanding how to use desensitization and counter conditioning for fearful dogsHow dog training culture has changed over the years and reward-based methods have become more popularWhat it was like to study at the original Academy for Dog Trainers and how much Jeff loved itand finally, we ask Jeff what he's been reading lately The books recommended by Jeff are: When Everyone Knows that Everyone Knows... Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life by Steven PinkerNever: A Novel by Ken Follett About Jeff Millman: Jeff Millman was always known as an animal fanatic since he was a little boy. After studying journalism, living in Alaska after college while living in a tent, working professionally as an internet consultant and creative director, he studied dog training with the world-famous Jean Donaldson in San Francisco in 2002. Since then, he has been honing his dog training craft while training thousands of dogs. He’s the author of three books, including the two-volume Triggers and Reactions: A Guide to Fixing Dog Behavior Problems. lives in Cary, NC with his two wonderful children, amazing wife, and English Shepherds, Sky and Storm. Jeff Millman's website: https://www.jeffmillman.com/ Support the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    31 min

  5. MAR 4

    How to help dogs and cats get along with each other

    Leave us a voicemail! Zazie and Kristi talk about how to help dogs and cats get along, and why it all starts with thinking about the cat's feeling of safety. We talk about: the need to manage introductions between dogs and catswhat that means from the dog's perspective, and the cat's perspectivethe importance of letting them vote with their feetthe need for safe spaces, and how to make safe spaces for a catthe idea of training the dog to be safe around catshow to keep the peace at mealtimesplacement of the cat's resourceswhether dogs are ever scared of catshow some dogs cannot be trusted to live with a cat The books we recommend in this episode are: Dog Affirmations: An Illustrated Journey Through Your Dog's Thoughts by Andrea CáceresThe Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules: A Novel by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg Previous episodes mentioned in the show: Caring for dogs versus caring for catsHow to help your reactive or fearful dog For more on how to set your house up for your cat, check out Zazie's book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy, which is available wherever books are sold. Learn more about Zazie's books here. Support the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    32 min

  6. FEB 17

    Everything you need to know about cat carriers with Dr. Mansum Yau

    Leave us a voicemail! What's the best kind of carrier to choose for your cat? We get a veterinarian's perspective from Dr. Mansum Yau, author of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian's Guide to Cat Carriers. We talk about: why, as a vet, Dr. Mansum is interested in cat carrierswhat kind of carrier is the best one to choosehow to help cats be more comfortable at the vethow she became a stand-up comedian on top of being a vet, and how humour can help at the vetwhy toothbrushing is so important for cats and how a video of Dr. Mansum brushing her cat's teeth went viralthe best carriers for adventure cats, and what happened one time with her catwhat it was like illustrating her bookand finally, she tells us about a book she's reading The book Dr. Mansum picked is Bony Legs and Other Stories by Pat Edwards. Also mentioned in this episode, the cat toothbrushing episode that went viral: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGW-oi1xPSC/ Dr. Mansum Yau graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2010 and earned her certificate in canine massage from the Royal Canadian College of Massage Therapy in 2025. She is Human Animal Bond and Fear Free Level 3 certified and passionate about preventative care and client education. When she is not caring for cats and dogs, she enjoys reading, writing, painting, drawing, performing clean stand-up comedy, raising awareness for endangered animals, and exploring nature with her one-eyed dog, Penny, and adventure cat, Boo. She is the author and illustrator of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Cat Carriers, available wherever cat lovers read. She also shares tips for cats and dogs at pet events and on Instagram and YouTube. Dr. Mansum Yau is on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drmansum/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@drmansum LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/drmansum Support the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    27 min

  7. FEB 3

    Patricia McConnell PhD and her first novel Away to Me

    Leave us a voicemail! Away to Me is Patricia McConnell PhD's first mystery novel, and it's gorgeous. Zazie and Kristi chat with Patricia to learn more about the book and why she decided to write fiction set in the dog world. We talk about: What made Patricia decide to write a mystery novelThe main character, Maddie McGowanWhether it was fun to be writing dogs as charactersHow she wrote about the dogs as real characters & without turning the interactions into negative/aversive ones. The many different dog training cases that appear as secondary characters in the bookPatricia has previously written many wonderful non-fiction books, including her memoir, The Education of Will. What’s different about writing fiction? The power and importance of friendships and how dogs are one of the ways that many people can find a community?What motivates her to write, and will we see more of Maddie after this? Away to Me will be published on Feb 24th and is available for pre-order wherever books are sold. Also mentioned: What the Dog Knows by Cat WarrenPatricia's blog post on finding grace https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/natl-dog-training-month-or-you-and-54/Susanna Daniel and Madison Writers' Studio https://madisonwriters.com/Patricia McConnell at Bark! Fest https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/16149739The book Patricia recommend is The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow.Learn more about Patricia and her book, Away to Me, on her website: https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/ Support the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    30 min

  8. JAN 20

    Caring for dogs vs caring for cats

    Leave us a voicemail! How is caring for a dog different than caring for a cat, and what is the same? We talk about what dogs and cats need for a happy life with us. We talk about: Training dogs and training cats (and why you should train your cat)The importance of enrichmentTheir sense of smellGoing places with your dog, but not your catHouse trainingVet care and husbandryAnd the books we've been reading. Also mentioned in this episode: There is a training plan to teach your cat to go in their carrier at the end of Zazie's book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat HappyZazie's blog post on 3 easy ways to start training your cat includes notes on carrier training https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2023/05/3-easy-ways-to-get-started-with.html The husbandry project from the Academy for Dog Trainers https://academyfordogtrainers.com/husbandry-project/ The books are: The Black AntiFascist Tradition by Jeanelle K Hope and Bill V MullenSnap: A Novel by Susin NielsonSupport the show About the co-hosts: Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist. Kristi Benson's website  Facebook   Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, 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, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.  Instagram  BlueSky

    40 min
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About

The show about how to have a better relationship with your dog or cat. Get tips on dog training, dog behaviour, cat behaviour and training, learn about the science on dogs and cats, and find out which books we're reading (animal-related and more generally). Kind, humane, reward-based training methods only. Hosted by Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC of Companion Animal Psychology blog. Made in Canada.

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