Enrichment, barking, whether dogs detect our stress, and questions about fearful dogs and cats

In this episode, Zazie and Kristi answer wide-ranging questions about both dogs and cats that were sent in by listeners. We talked about brain games and the attention span in senior dogs; suggestions for new things to teach dogs; why dogs bark at e.g. people in hats or people going by the house; cooperative care for kittens; creating a local resource list for anxious and fearful dogs; enrichment and caring for fearful cats; the best tone of voice to use when speaking to your dog; whether dogs can detect our levels of stress; how to advocate for your dog; whether to teach a chin rest to cats for cooperative care; teaching cats to be wrapped in a towel for vet care; is watching TV good for pets,; how to teach cats to cooperate with having their claws trimmed; and we shared some tips on desensitization and counterconditioning for anxious and fearful dogs and cats. This episode was recorded with a live audience. Links and resources: Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Zazie Todd is out now and getting rave reviews. It’s available from all good bookstores. https://greystonebooks.com/products/bark Kristi Benson’s course on barking https://www.kristibenson.com/peace-and-quiet-barking-dogs and on grooming: https://www.kristibenson.com/freshandfearless The Husbandry project from the Academy for Dog Trainers https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/husbandry-project/ Train Your Dog Like a Pro by Jean Donaldson is also available from all good bookstores. Fear Free directory https://fearfreepets.com/ fearf Debbie Jacobs Fearful Dogs https://fearfuldogs.com/ BC SPCA desensitization and counterconditioning for cats. You can find the infographic on Bailey Eagan’s website https://www.baileyheagan.com/resources Companion Animal Psychology blog post on desensitization and counterconditioning https://www.compani Send us a text to say hello! 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