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What's the best kind of carrier to choose for your cat? We get a veterinarian's perspective from Dr. Mansum Yau, author of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian's Guide to Cat Carriers.

We talk about:

• why, as a vet, Dr. Mansum is interested in cat carriers
• what kind of carrier is the best one to choose
• how to help cats be more comfortable at the vet
• how she became a stand-up comedian on top of being a vet, and how humour can help at the vet
• why toothbrushing is so important for cats and how a video of Dr. Mansum brushing her cat's teeth went viral
• the best carriers for adventure cats, and what happened one time with her cat
• what it was like illustrating her book
• and finally, she tells us about a book she's reading

The book Dr. Mansum picked is Bony Legs and Other Stories by Pat Edwards.

Also mentioned in this episode, the cat toothbrushing episode that went viral: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGW-oi1xPSC/

Dr. Mansum Yau graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2010 and earned her certificate in canine massage from the Royal Canadian College of Massage Therapy in 2025. She is Human Animal Bond and Fear Free Level 3 certified and passionate about preventative care and client education. When she is not caring for cats and dogs, she enjoys reading, writing, painting, drawing, performing clean stand-up comedy, raising awareness for endangered animals, and exploring nature with her one-eyed dog, Penny, and adventure cat, Boo. She is the author and illustrator of The Ins and Outs of Cat Carriers: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Cat Carriers, available wherever cat lovers read. She also shares tips for cats and dogs at pet events and on Instagram and YouTube.

Dr. Mansum Yau is on:

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drmansum/

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@drmansum

LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/drmansum

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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.

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Away to Me is Patricia McConnell PhD's first mystery novel, and it's gorgeous. Zazie and Kristi chat with Patricia to learn more about the book and why she decided to write fiction set in the dog world.

We talk about:

• What made Patricia decide to write a mystery novel
• The main character, Maddie McGowan
• Whether it was fun to be writing dogs as characters
• How she wrote about the dogs as real characters & without turning the interactions into negative/aversive ones.
• The many different dog training cases that appear as secondary characters in the book
• Patricia has previously written many wonderful non-fiction books, including her memoir, The Education of Will. What’s different about writing fiction?
• The power and importance of friendships and how dogs are one of the ways that many people can find a community?
• What motivates her to write, and will we see more of Maddie after this?

Away to Me will be published on Feb 24th and is available for pre-order wherever books are sold.

Also mentioned:

• What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren
• Patricia's blog post on finding grace https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/natl-dog-training-month-or-you-and-54/
• Susanna Daniel and Madison Writers' Studio https://madisonwriters.com/
• Patricia McConnell at Bark! Fest https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/16149739
• The book Patricia recommend is The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow.

Learn more about Patricia and her book, Away to Me, on her website: https://www.patriciamcconnell.com/

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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.

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How is caring for a dog different than caring for a cat, and what is the same? We talk about what dogs and cats need for a happy life with us.

We talk about:

• Training dogs and training cats (and why you should train your cat)
• The importance of enrichment
• Their sense of smell
• Going places with your dog, but not your cat
• House training
• Vet care and husbandry
• And the books we've been reading.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• There is a training plan to teach your cat to go in their carrier at the end of Zazie's book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy
• Zazie's blog post on 3 easy ways to start training your cat includes notes on carrier training https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2023/05/3-easy-ways-to-get-started-with.html
• The husbandry project from the Academy for Dog Trainers https://academyfordogtrainers.com/husbandry-project/

The books are:

• The Black AntiFascist Tradition by Jeanelle K Hope and Bill V Mullen
• Snap: A Novel by Susin Nielson

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.

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If your dog has separation anxiety, what can you do to help them, how can you cope with not leaving your dog alone for longer than they can handle, and why is it so important? We're joined by separation anxiety expert Malena DeMartini to talk about how you can help your dog with their separation-related issues.

We talk about:

• what separation anxiety is and whether other labels like separation-related distress are useful to dog trainers and dog guardians
• what it means to suspend absences for your dog
• how video helps to show the moment when the dog starts to get distressed, and what happens before that
• why it's important to speak to a vet about medication for separation anxiety
• how crates are not the answer for dogs with separation anxiety
• how dog trainers can become certified to work with separation anxiety cases (CSATs) through Malena's school
• And Malena tells us about a book she loves

Malena DeMartini is a Certified Trainer and Counselor (CTC) and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC). Since 2001, she has specialized exclusively in canine separation anxiety, having worked hundreds of cases and constantly innovating to find better ways to treat the condition and support guardians, other trainers, rescues, and shelters. Malena is the author of two ground-breaking books, Separation Anxiety in Dogs, Next Generation in Treatment Protocols and Practices (2020) and Treating Separation Anxiety in Dogs. is the founder of the prestigious Separation Anxiety Certification Program (SACP), which has graduated hundreds of Certified Separation Anxiety Trainers (CSATs) across the globe. She also has an online self-paced course, Mission: POSSIBLE, which is an invaluable resource.

Learn more at https://malenademartini.com/

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.

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In this special episode, Zazie and Kristi are joined by some of the most popular guests from previous episodes to chat about all things animal behaviour, including dogs, cats, ants, penguins, and crows.

We talk about:

• with Jo Wimpenny, PhD, author of Aesop's Animals, we talk about The Ant and the Grasshopper and how we know whether or not animals can plan ahead--plus we get exciting news about her next book
• Zazie and Kristi chat about their highlights of the year
• with Marc Bekoff, PhD, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals (and many other books) we talk about ethology, his research with penguins, and whether animals have rituals
• Zazie and Kristi chat about Holiday rituals
• with Erica Beckwith CTC of A Matter of Manners Dog Training, we talk about how to get cute Holiday photos of your pets
• and finally we share which books we've been reading

The full show notes are available on the Companion Animal Psychology website: https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/

Previous episodes with these guests:

• Animal minds and our favourite fables with Jo Wimpenny , PhD https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/14597289
• Canine emotions and perceptions with Marc Bekoff PhD, Zazie Todd PhD, and Cat Warren at Bark! Fest https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/16276537
• Animal emotions with Marc Bekoff, PhD, at Bark! Fest https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/17148973
• The benefits of tricks training for dogs and cats with Erica Beckwith https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/12793661

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Preorder Beauty of the Beasts by Jo Wimpenny https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/beauty-of-the-beasts-9781399417617/
• Ask Me Anything about Fearful and Reactive Dogs https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/18168422
• Wild Rituals by Caitlin O'Connell
• Jane Goo

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.

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Zazie and Kristi are joined by Prof. Carri Westgarth to answer your questions about dog bites, how to avoid getting bitten by a dog, and what to do if you have been bitten by a dog.

We talked about:

• Why dogs bite
• How to use management to keep people safe from dogs
• How to keep children safe from dog bites
• What to do if a loose dog charges you
• How to regain trust if your own dog has bitten you
• The difference between predatory behaviour and fear aggression
• The systemic factors that can make a difference to the prevalence of dog bites, and why education is only part of the answer
• Why Breed Specific Legislation isn't the solution to dog bites
• And more!

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Sophia Yin's video with loose dogs (correction: it was in Australia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhm36dDFrk4
• The Care for Reactive Dogs website https://careforreactivedogs.com/
• Zazie's email list. Sign up here: https://companionanimalpsychology.kit.com/a88e8d1a2a

Books by Prof. Carri Westgarth:

• The Happy Dog Owner
• Dog Bites: A Multidisciplinary Perspective (co-edited with Daniel Mills)

Books by Zazie Todd PhD:

• Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy
• Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog

Professor Carri Westgarth is Chair in Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Liverpool with a passion for understanding the relationships we have with our pets. With a background in animal behaviour and dog training she has trained in veterinary epidemiology and human public health. Her research interests focus on the implications of dog ownership for human health and wellbeing, but also how owner management of their dogs can impact dog welfare. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used to tackle her primary research questions of how to improve population health through the promotion of dog walking, and how to prevent dog bites. Her expertise on understanding and changing the behaviour of dog owners is sought by many organisations wishing to prevent dog bites and promote ‘responsible’ dog owner behaviour, such as her work as a consultant for Royal Mail. She is also a Full Member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and founder of

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.

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We learn what canine scent work is, why it's so good for dogs, and how to get started--and progress--in this activity with Certified Nose Work Instructor Bonnie Hartney of Ocean Park Dog Training.

We talk about:

• How Bonnie got started in scent work and how the activity first came about
• Why scent work is fun for dogs and for their humans
• What to expect at a beginner class
• Whether scent work is for all dogs
• The kinds of scent that are used, how dogs progress to searching for a target odour, and the kinds of searches they do
• What Bonnie has learned about her dogs from doing scent work
• How Kristi's dog Archer is likely to do at scent work if she tries it
• Differences between scent work classes and professional scent work

If you'd like to try nose work, Bonnie recommends:

National Association of Canine Scent Work: https://www.nacsw.net/

Find an Instructor https://education.k9nosework.com/instructor_extsearch

Online Scent Training with Scent Work University:

https://www.scentworku.com/collections/foundation-sniffing-program

For shy and fearful dogs with Kelly Lee; https://www.dogkindtraining.com/sniff

The book Bonnie chose is Finding Flora by Elinor Florence.

Bonnie Hartney is the owner and head instructor/trainer of Ocean Park Dog Training in Surrey, BC, which is AnimalKind accredited. Bonnie is a force-free, reward-based dog training professional, who brings knowledge and experience working with shelter dogs and pet dogs to advance other’s understanding of pet dog behaviour. Bonnie earned her CTC (Certificate in Training and Counselling) from a distinguished, international leader, Jean Donaldson at the Academy for Dog Trainers. To further her understanding of scent detection for pet dogs, Bonnie studied with NACSW (National Association of Canine Scent Work) founders and is a certified CNWI (Certified NoseWork Instructor) with 9 years experience teaching Nose Work. For over 25 years, Bonnie has volunteered and worked with the BC SPCA, helping shelter dogs to be adopted. Currently they have Nose Work classes every day of the week

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.

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We hosted an Ask Me Anything on anxious, fearful, and reactive dogs. You asked some incredible questions, and this is the result.

We talked about:

• How to find the starting place for working with anxious dogs
• Helping dogs who are afraid of elevators
• Fear of strangers
• Helping reactive dogs in tricky environments like apartment buildings and cities
• Reactivity to other dogs
• Fear of loud noises
• How the unfortunate side effects of shock collars can persist after training is over
• How to persuade people not to use aversives
• and more!

Also mentioned in this episode: Understanding resource guarding in dogs (and what to do about it) with Lisa Skavienski https://www.buzzsprout.com/2183505/episodes/12905737 (episode 8)

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for this episode and/or who attended the live event. If you'd like to see more events like this, let us know!

This event was arranged to celebrate the publication of my book Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, which is available wherever books are sold, including Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Bark-Science-Helping-Anxious-Reactive/dp/1778403328/ and Greystone Books https://greystonebooks.com/products/bark

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.

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