June 9, 2025
Fearful and Anxious Dogs with Zazie Todd, PhD, at Bark! Fest
The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal PsychologyAbout this episode
Zazie Todd is at the forefront of the move towards positive animal welfare and kind, humane dog training methods. Her third book, Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is a compassionate and practical guide to overcoming your dog’s fears. In this panel from Bark! Fest, you’ll learn how to help your dog feel safe, how your presence can help your dog, and get a new understanding of the training techniques that can make a difference, as she shares tips from Bark!. We talked about: How Bark! Fest came about How to counsel people that slow is the new fast when it comes to fearful dogs Decisions about how much of the "why" and "how" to include in the book Why tricks training is included in a book for fearful and anxious dogs How to keep dogs and people safe Whether pandemic puppies really do have more behaviour issues, and how we can use management to help a fearful dog The gorgeous cover of Bark! and how much input authors get into book covers and titles with a traditional publisher Plus Zazie did a reading from the book Bark! is out now in paperback. It is available wherever books are sold. Find out about upcoming events and learn more about Zazie Todd, PhD, on her website https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/p/home.html The recording of Bark! Fest with Patricia McConnell, PhD, is here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/16149739 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