In this final episode we look back with Becky and Craig on their personal pet behaviour Odyssey and how far they have come. They share the insights they have gained and how this has helped to built their relationship. They discuss the many positives of the journey but also the challenges they met on the way. Every client is an individual and every case is a unique learning opportunity for us as clinicians, so we share what we learned on the way too. However we leave the last word to Bec...

When we ask clients to do something it is important that we support them throughout the process. What a client needs at this time is not the same as what they need to encourage initial action. At this time things like reinforcement for progress, become particularly important, as do helpful relationships that support the change process. Again this is something that is perhaps not as widely appreciated as it should be. This aspect of treatment forms the basis of the current episode. Becky...

Individualising treatment for a given client and their pet is essential and so we have to go beyond the theoretical techniques used in human and animal behaviour modification. In the last episode we looked at the COM-B model of human behaviour change. COM-B stands for Capability, Opportunities and Motivations underpinning human Behaviour change. We also introduced the Theoretical Domains, like an individual’s knowledge, beliefs about their capabilities, emotions, ability to visualize a goal a...

In this episode we talk about the process of implementing treatment. In particular we discuss the less often discussed issue of human behaviour change, with a focus on how we consider the underpinning capability, opportunities and motivation of a client to enable more effective change. We introduce the theoretical domains framework. This is a synthesis of lots of different evidence based approaches for bringing about human behaviour change. At its simplest it is a list of about 14...

Separation related problems are commonly misunderstood, and the term separation anxiety is an unhelpful misnomer. Indeed our scientific understanding of separation related problems is rapidly being revised in light of new research. It is now clear there are four common forms of the condition, which represent different responses to the frustration that arises when a pet is left at home. These are typically described as a Exit frustration related b Reactive excited c Reactive inhibited d....

In the previous episode, we explored Becky and Craig's initial experience of seeking help for Drax, the challenges with finding a professional service and the strain associated with having a loved one with behavioural issues. In this episode, we look at how we tend to structure our pet behaviour service, especially with regards to identifying where clients are in relation to what is known as the Cycle of Change. This views change as a process not an event and there are sever...

In this episode we pick up from where we finished Episode 1. We discuss in more detail the minefield that is the unregulated fields of animal training and behaviour. We explore Becky's and Craig's experience of seeking help from various sources for the behaviours that Drax was exhibiting. We discuss how things progressed; but more importantly, how they each felt on this part of their Odyssey. We highlight the stresses and strains associated with owning a pet with problem behaviour and i...

Episode 1: Welcoming a dog into your life – the Odyssey begins In this episode we introduce you to Becky, Craig and Drax. We find out how Drax came into Becky's and Craig's life, including the emotional background that so often underpins the decision to acquire a pet. We discuss their love and joy with Drax during these early days in their home, before they felt that things were not turning out quite how they had expected and hoped. Their love and commitment persisted, but the joy becam...

Find out more about the new spodcast series eries Pet behaviour odysseys exploring the experience of having a problem pet, focusing especially on the client’s experience. The series is hosted by myself, Daniel Mills, Professor of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine at the University of Lincoln, and my colleague at the Lincoln Animal Behaviour Clinic, Clinical Animal Behaviourist, MillyJones. Each week we are joined by Becca and Craig, who have been on a pet behaviour odyssey, with the...

Pet behaviour odysseys is a podcast series exploring the experience of having a problem pet, focusing especially on the client’s experience. Each week myself, Daniel Mills and my colleague at the Lincoln Animal Behaviour Clinic, MillyJones, are joined by a family who have been on the pet behaviour odyssey. The current eight part series is dedicated to the journey associated with an adorable little daxi called Drax and his family – Becca, Craig and their young daughter. Drax came to us w...

In this episode I get to chat with longstanding friend, journalist and best selling cat author, Celia Haddon, with whom I have recently co-authored my latest book "Being your cat - what's really going on in your feline's mind" (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Being-Your-Cat-Inside-Felines/dp/178840405X/ref=monarch_sidesheet). I learn that trying to interview a journalist is not an easy thing to do, and perhaps the tables get turned on me. We discuss a lot of cat literature and out views on living an...

Bob Cook is a pioneering equine veterinarian and emeritus professor at Tufts University, working in the field of ear, nose and throat medicine, who has championed a reconsideration of how we interact and communicate with horses. In his career he has identified many performance and medical problems which he was the first to attribute to the use of the bit. I got to know Bob, through his work on headshaking in horses and his work directly inspired some of my own PhD on this topic (and coinciden...

I catch up with Turid Rugaas, who I first met at a conference at Cambridge, where she introduced her ideas on calming signals and reading dogs to many people in the UK for the first time. I immediately got where she was coming from, unlike some of the audience, as we both remember. We get to chat here about her early life (with horses) but also the issue of control, and our shared concern over what seems to be a growing tendency not to allow a dog to make mistakes, and learn from them. A focu...

In this episode I chat to long standing friend Debbie Horwitz. It is very informal and just like old times. needless to say we chat about cats (mainly our own cats) but also dogs. Debbie has one of the most amazing videos that she leant me a long time ago, of a dog showing a sequence of signals before airsnapping in front of the technician who is ignorign all the other signals. I have taught so many students using this video, and I am sure so many more have benefited from it. I can't sh...

I finally got to catch up and chat withKersti, who is a veterinary behaviourist certified in Australia, UK and North America. So she really does see the field from many perspectives. For her MSc she did a pivotal study which looked at what puppies actually gain from socialisation classes. We discussed this and other things when we caught up. Please don't forget to subscribe to be kept informed when new episodes become available, and if you enjoy it a like helps spread awareness of the s...

A book that anyone with an interest in companion animal including horse behaviour should read is "beware the straw man". In my latest podcast I get to catch up with its author Linda Case - The Science Dog. A terrific communicator of science, who has a wonderful way of highlighting how we need to think about the various bits of science coming out. She has a particular passion for nutrition as well, so needless to say we end up chatting a lot about what you should and should not feed your dog. ...

Pilley Bianchi, also known as Debbie Pilley, is the daughter of the late John Pilley, the Psychology Professor who owned Chaser, the dog with the largest vocabulary of any dog ever recorded. In this episode, we catch up to chat about her life with both of these characters and her thoughts about their legacy, alongside her own own insights into how animals learn. We discuss both of our experiences about what helps dogs understand language better and what does not, as wel...

In this episode I chat with pioneering behaviourist and advocate for professional standards in clinical animal behaviour David Appleby. We talk about his early experience with the RAF and Guide Dogs for the Blind before he moved into managing problem behaviour, his work on effect of early experience on later behaviour and separation related problems. Needless to say, given his role in leading the professionalisation of the field in the UK, we also discuss the issue of regula...

In this episode, I get to catch up with best selling author and canine psychologist Alexandra Horowitz. Famous for her research on the guilty look and olfactory mirror test in dogs amongst other things, we discuss this work further and her new book. Alexandra has long been interested in understanding the umwelt (the personal perspective) of other animals, and like her book, she tries to discover what it is like to be a dog. She is a professor at Barnard College, Columbia Univ...

In this episode I get to chat to someone I have always considered a deep thinker on human animal relationships and anthrozoology. I have often described him as "healthy sceptic" of the reported claims concerning the impact of pets on people., but he is also a leading figure in highlighting are moral ambiguities towards animals. Some may find the content of this podcast challenging, but as we conclude, although there are no simple solutions, if we stop and think, we can still act in a go...