Dialogues with Daniel

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 became tinged with sadness and frustration as they started to feel there was a problem that was seriously impacting  their quality of life. 

This led them to navigating  the unfamilar and unchartered territory of training and behaviour, as they tried to  get professional advice and support. 

Who should they turn to for help? 

Footnote for those seeking professional support: 

If you are in the UK and would like help with your pet’s behaviour, we encourage  you to seek professional advice. A list of Certificated clinical animal behaviourists, including the presenters of this show can be found at www.ccab.uk/. 

You can also find further details of the Lincoln Animal Behaviour Clinic at animalbehaviourclinic.lincoln.ac.uk/.  

In Europe, if you want to find a veterinary behaviourist you can find a list of Diplomates (individuals who have the highest level of training available in the field) at https://www.ecawbm.org/diplomates-list. 

In North America, you can find a directory of certified applied animal behaviorists at https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/committees-applied-behavior-directory.php and board certified veterinary behaviorists at: https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709. 

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 their little dog Drax, who had a combination of both separation related problems and interdog reactivity. 

Each week, we examine a different part of Drax’s family’s journey and we hope the series will be of interst to anyone who might be challenged by their pet’s behaviour and those who help others in these situation. 

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 with a combination of both separation related problems and interdog reactivity. 

Each week, we examine a different part of Drax’s family’s journey and we hope the series will reassure and inspire anyone who might be challenged by their pet’s behaviour. We also hope it will be of interest to those working in this field as I know it can sometimes appear to be a lonely and at times stressful profession. Whatever your situation, I hope you appreciate that  you are not alone. 

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 and also writing about cats. Hope you enjoy it. 

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 coincidentally 2 other people I worked with also called Cook! another point we discuss in this chat) I was therefore very privileged when he reached out to me quite a few years and asked if we could collaborate on some work he was doing. This was eventually published as: Cook, W. R., & Mills, D. S. (2009). Preliminary study of jointed snaffle vs. crossunder bitless bridles: Quantified comparison of behaviour in four horses. Equine veterinary journal, 41(8), 827-830. Bob has been pioneering a move towards bit-free riding for many years and we discuss this at length, along with his concerns about the bit and so much more. We also discuss shoes and saddles. I hope you enjoy the discussion. 
We mention a few websites and details are below. 
https://worldbitlessassociation.org/resources/
I would particularly recommend his recent publications here:
https://worldbitlessassociation.org/resources/does-use-of-a-bit-endanger-the-health-and-safety-of-horse-and-rider-professor-robert-cook-july-2022/
https://worldbitlessassociation.org/resources/the-effect-of-bit-induced-pain-in-the-horse-on-the-feelings-of-riders-about-riding-2022/
another great article we refer to can be found here: https://en.weltexpress.info/2021/09/29/pain-free-horsemannship/
Bob has always been willing to discuss his ideas and share his knowledge so it was a treat for me to finally catch up with him face-o-face through this chat. You can check out his website here: https://bitlessbridle.com/

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 focus on control using external reinforcement might not be helping dogs develop emotional resilience. A great chat.

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 share it here, for privacy reasons but many of you might know it. Anyway in this episode I find out something I never knew about this video which makes it all the more remarkable. List and find out! :-)

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 site to others. Thanks

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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. All good common sense based on science. Despite the glitches int he internet, we had a great chat, and I am grateful to Sedrick Vangronsveld for his editing skills. This would eb a lot later coming out, if it was not for his expertise. Hope you enjoy it.

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

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 well as some of the wider philosophical points extending from this concerning dog cognition, consciousness and their welfare as a result;  as well the wider legacy of Chaser and her father's philosophy on life. 
If you have read her father's book  "Chaser", you might just find this episode answers some of the questions you asked yourself as your read it. They were certainly some of the questions I had and so the episode is a great addition to it. If you haven't read it (why haven't you?), I would recommend it as a fascinating and uplifting read - ideal for the holiday!
Pilley Bianchi is also a very accomplished and multi-talented artist in her own right (see: https://www.pilleybianchi.com/about) and has a light hearted Christmas song out that you can listen to here -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUPaUvpn_N8, (no it does not feature my tuneless singing you will be pleased to hear).  Anyway I hope you enjoy this Christmas special and wish you all a great 2022. Thanks for watching and listening to the podcasts.
PS you can of course listen to this at any time of year! :-)

#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/