When you’re done with training your fearful dog to love something, it’s important to think about how to maintain your great results.  Photo: Esin Deniz/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.  Last July, the weather finally turned hot. It would have been an exceptional heatwave if it weren’t for the heatdome that we sweated through a few years before. It was really hot. So we set the air con unit up in the kitchen and in the morning, I went and turned it on.  I no ..read more

Watch or listen to the recording of Canine Blockbusters at Bark! Fest with Alexis Devine talking about her book I Am Bunny and Teresa J Rhyne on her book Poppy in the Wild. Zazie Todd, Alexis Devine, Teresa J. Rhyne, and Kristi Benson hold up copies of the books at Bark! Fest. Kerry Nichols was unable to attend so Kristi is holding up her book, Puppy Brain.  By Zazie Todd PhD  This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.  Bark! Fest with Alexis Devine and Teresa J Rhyne Bark! Fest, the book festival ..read more

 There's a new podcast interview with me about how to help anxious and fearful dogs. By Zazie Todd PhD I chatted to Si Wooler about how to help anxious and fearful dogs and my new book, Bark!: The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts or here. Si and I are both graduates of The Academy for Dog Trainers and we put the world to rights for fearful dogs. Happy listening! Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is available wherever books are sold. That includes Bookshop (which supports independ ..read more

I was interviewed about how to help anxious dogs for The Observer. By Zazie Todd PhD I was interviewed by The Observer about how to help anxious and fearful dogs. You can read the piece in the print copy of The Observer Magazine from 5th January, or online on The Guardian website: Paw things: How to help your anxious dog. The piece includes lots of tips on how to help an anxious dog, including why aversive methods only make things worse, and training that people can do to help. I'm really pleased with the article and hope you enjoy it. Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or ..read more

A round-up of the year's most popular content on dogs, cats, and the human-animal bond. Photo: Daykiney/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD It's time for my annual round-up of the most popular posts and podcasts of the year, this year with videos too. In this list you'll find some great tips and some absolutely amazing guests. The posts of the year on Companion Animal Psychology 10. I Am Bunny: An Interview with Alexis Devine 9. New guidelines say don't use imagery of dogs with extreme conformation: The infographic 8. Body size and face shape predict the lifespan of dogs, study shows 7 ..read more

Wishing you all the best for the festive season. Photo: Anna Averianova/Shutterstock Thank you for your support during this past year. I wish you a wonderful and peaceful holiday season and a happy and healthy 2025. Zazie ..read more

The result is great news for dogs and their guardians who can access modern, scientific dog training—but people still need to ask questions to avoid trainers who use aversives. Photo: kackaborovska/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd, PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Deciding how to train a dog is an important decision. Scientists and animal welfare organizations are united in the understanding that it’s best to use reward-based methods because aversive methods (such as leash “corrections”, yelling, shock an ..read more

I chatted with Chris Blazina PhD about dog behaviour on the Dog Save the People podcast. By Zazie Todd PhD I've got a new podcast to share with you! I was a guest on the Dog Save the People podcast, where I chatted about dogs with host Chris Blazina PhD. Blazina is also a psychologist and so we had a really fun chat about dog behaviour. You can listen here: Website - https://www.dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/zazie-todd-2024  Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/positive-consistency-w-zazie-todd-phd/id1448576464?i=1000680670652 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/6r2WbIm ..read more

You can now watch or listen to the recording of this sold-out panel at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers, with Marc Bekoff, Cat Warren, and Zazie Todd. By Zazie Todd, PhD  This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.  Bark! Fest with Marc Bekoff, Zazie Todd, and Cat Warren Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers, took place in September 2024 with 11 author panels (and one tricks class from the amazing Erica Beckwith of A Matter of Manners Dog Training). It was organized to celebrate the ..read more

I've got two new posts on my Psych Today blog, one about some research on what life is like for seniors with pets, and one with the facts on fearful dogs. Photo: Elmer L. Geissler/Pixabay By Zazie Todd PhD This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Seniors with pets There’s a general societal discourse that pets are good for our mental and physical health, although the research does not match up to this. Instead, things are much more mixed, as having a pet can sometimes have its downsides. And that’s the case for ..read more