Kristi Benson

09/04/2025

What are the best ways to help reactive and fearful dogs? In the latest episode of the podcast, Kristi Benson and I share the most important tips that you should know, including 3 tips from my book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, watch on Youtube, or listen/watch and read a transcript on my blog.

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/17695165
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/how-to-help-your-reactive-or-fearful-dog/id1685998335?i=1000722651589
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mpy2QgJgBGyMg3flyTAAF
Youtube: https://youtu.be/Ju-Id_vg5lA
Website to listen, watch, and read a transcript: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2025/08/how-to-help-your-reactive-or-fearful-dog.html

Bark! is available from all good bookstores, including your local indie and my Amazon store https://amzn.to/4lCp5h6

08/21/2025

A very interesting chat with Zazie!

What are the best ways to help reactive and fearful dogs? In the latest episode of the podcast, Kristi Benson and I share the most important tips that you should know, including 3 tips from my book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, watch on Youtube, or listen/watch and read a transcript on my blog.

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/17695165
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/how-to-help-your-reactive-or-fearful-dog/id1685998335?i=1000722651589
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mpy2QgJgBGyMg3flyTAAF
Youtube: https://youtu.be/Ju-Id_vg5lA
Website to listen, watch, and read a transcript: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2025/08/how-to-help-your-reactive-or-fearful-dog.html

Bark! is available from all good bookstores, including your local indie and my Amazon store https://amzn.to/4lCp5h6

08/21/2025

Amazing!

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, The Academy has created a new, affordable course especially curated for people in sheltering and rescue. One enrollment gives your staff and volunteers access in perpetuity. Check it out at: https://academyfordogtrainers.com/shelter-rescue-course/

08/08/2025

If a lizard and sea lions can be trained with positive reinforcement, then can't we do the same for dogs? In the latest episode of The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, we chatted with Dr. Adrian Walton of Dewdney Animal Hospital Ltd. to get his perspective on dog training methods. We also found out how veterinarians can help pets who are terrified of going to the vet, and how he ended up with that lizard that we mentioned.

Listen to The Pawsitive Post in Conversation wherever you get your podcasts, watch the video on the Companion Animal Psychology Youtube channel, or listen/watch and read a transcript on the CAP website (links below). This is a brilliant episode--you don't want to miss it!

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/17602116
Youtube: https://youtu.be/LD75UntRMwI
Website with video, audio, and transcript: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2025/08/training-dogs-lizards-and-sea-lions.html

07/24/2025

Zazie's latest blog and our latest podcast are a round-up of writers answering the question..."what gives you hope for the human-animal bond?"

Popular authors of books about animals share what gives them hope for our relationship with dogs, cats, and other animals. Bonus episode.

06/13/2025

Twenty five amazing years!

06/11/2025

Zazie's wonderful book Bark! is out in paperback!

Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is out in paperback today! I wrote this book to bring hope to people with fearful and anxious dogs, and it's for anyone who loves dogs.

“It is immediately evident that Zazie Todd has great knowledge and affection for dogs. Her book is a gift to anyone who genuinely wants to learn more about dogs or to improve their dog’s life.”—BC Review, STARRED review

Get your copy wherever books are sold, including:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dRvHGa
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/105832/9781778403323 (supports indie bookstores in the US).

03/20/2025

Look for the leaf!

Here at The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, Kristi and I are proudly Canadian. And we're very proud of our podcast which aims to help people have a better relationship with their pet dogs and cats.

This is a time when Canadians are looking for things that are made in Canada. So we've joined the Look for the Leaf campaign to help people identify Canadian podcasts. You can see the red maple leaf added to our artwork.

The campaign was started by Terry O'Reilly who told ,

“Grocery stores now mark Canadian products. Ads and commercials now say, ‘Made in Canada for Canadians, by Canadians.’ And that should extend to podcasts, too,” says Terry. “There are so many great Canadian shows to listen to - and we can help Canadians identify those shows by placing a small maple leaf on every Canadian podcast. It’s like a flag pin on a digital backpack. If you want to support Canadian creators - ‘Look for the Leaf.’”

The hope of the campaign is that more people will listen to Canadian podcasts.

Our podcast description already said Made in Canada, but now the red maple leaf is a clear visual signifier that The Pawsitive Post in Conversation is a Canadian podcast.

So if you're looking for Canadian podcasts, look for the leaf.

Happy listening!

03/13/2025

Our little podcast has passed another milestone! Thanks to all of you for listening to The Pawsitive Post in Conversation, and of course to Kristi Benson for being the best co-host! You can listen to The Pawsitive Post in Conversation wherever you get your podcasts or on my website, or watch on the Companion Animal Psychology Youtube channel.

01/30/2025

I'm sharing this request on behalf of a student at the University of Edinburgh. Would you like to help them with their research? Here's the info:
Are you a dog guardian who has faced the heartbreaking decision of euthanizing a beloved pet? If so, I need your help.
As a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, I am conducting research on the profound impact of pet euthanasia on the human-animal bond. Your personal experiences and insights could make an invaluable contribution to this important study.
The anonymous online survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. I know this is an incredibly sensitive subject, but your participation has the power to help inform the development of much-needed support resources for dog guardians facing similar challenges.
If you feel called to share your story, please click the following link to access the survey:
https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/edinburgh/does-euthanasia-affect-the-human-animal-bond
Your responses will be kept completely confidential, and your participation is entirely voluntary. You have the right to withdraw at any time before submitting your anonymous survey.
Thank you for your valuable time and for considering this request. Your contribution could make a meaningful difference.

12/17/2024

Did you catch the recording of Canine emotions and perception with Marc Bekoff PhD, Cat Warren, and myself, chaired by Kristi Benson, at Bark! Fest? You can watch on the Companion Animal Psychology Youtube channel, listen via The Pawsitive Post in Conversation wherever you get your podcasts, or watch, listen, and read the transcript on my blog. Marc and Cat were amazing--don't miss it!

12/16/2024

A really cool conversation with some amazing thinkers!

New podcast & video alert! This event at Bark! Fest, with Marc Bekoff PhD, Cat Warren, Author , and myself, beautifully chaired by was full and so many people wanted to attend but couldn't. People keep asking for the recording and so, here it is! You can watch on my Youtube channel, listen to The Pawsitive Post in Conversation wherever you get your podcasts, or watch, listen, and read the highlights on my blog. Marc and Cat were both amazing--don't miss it!

Here's the event description: Canine Emotions and Perception
Discover the role of emotions and perception in dogs’ lives. In Dogs Demystified: An A-to-Z Guide to All Things Canine and the second edition of The Emotional Lives of Animals, Marc Bekoff updates our understanding of the emotions animals feel (and how we know they feel them). For people whose dogs feel shy or worried, Zazie Todd’s Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is a compassionate and practical guide based on the latest science. And in the beautifully-crafted New York Times bestseller What the Dog Knows: Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World by Cat Warren explores the extraordinary abilities of scent detection dogs and tells the captivating story of how Warren’s dog Solo became a human remains detection dog.

The books from are available wherever books are sold, including from: Bookshop (which supports independent bookstores): https://bookshop.org/lists/bark-fest-the-book-festival-for-animal-lovers
UK Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/bark-fest-the-book-festival-for-animal-lovers
My Amazon store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/animalbookclub