#70 Zazie Todd - Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog

Howdy Bookshelvers! We hope this podcast finds you warm and snuggly by a fire with a dog on your lap. This week Corrin and Steve are joined by the wonderful award winning author, PhD, certified dog trainer, animal behaviourist and returning guest Zazie Todd to discuss everything about her brand spanking new book Bark!We love chatting with Zazie. She is always so compassionate, practical, and deep rooted in science as well as being open to difficult conversations and generous with the absolute universe of knowledge inside her head. We get to discuss her journey as an author, the importance of a deep understanding of dog behaviour, and the emotional challenges faced by dog guardians dealing with dogs with fear and anxiety. We slap a heavy emphasis on the significance of positive reinforcement and counter conditioning in dog training when it comes to fear, while also addressing misconceptions surrounding anthropomorphism that just might be holding us back. Zazie shares insights on the role of professionals in the field and the need for a lovely, supportive community for dog trainers and much, much more.Steve and Corrin talk through windy beach walks and fat seal pups as well as going through our normal book review sections. Put simply you’re gonna LOVE it! Zazie Facts: 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 founder of the popular blog Companion Animal Psychology, where she writes about everything from training methods to the human-canine relationship. Todd also writes a blog for Psychology Today, Fellow Creatures. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, one dog, and two cats. Links:Buy Bark! here (but better off going to a local bookshop right?!)Sign up to Zazie's newsletter here