The Deal with Animals with Marika S. Bell

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Episode 2 of Series 14: Dog's Days of Summer 

We explore the research on bite risks, the experiences of postal workers, and the challenges faced by dog owners. We discuss the lasting impacts on families and communities, and the social narratives surrounding aggressive behaviors in dogs. We'll also hear from dog trainer Kate La Sala about hands-on training perspectives and the importance of clear communication.

Guest Bio:  Dr. Sara Owczarczak-Garstecka is a pet welfare and human-animal interactions researcher. Her expertise involves the prevention of dog bites at home and within work environments, approaches to understanding dog owners' attitudes and public views of dog behaviour and welfare needs, human-behaviour change approaches, survey design and research methodologies. 

Related Episodes and Links

E6: Dog Bites: The Fallout and Emotional Toll with Dr. Sara Owczarczak-Garstecka

36: Aggression in Dogs Con Mini-Series: with Laura Monaco Torelli Part 3

37: Raising Children and Dogs with Colleen Pelar, CPDT(S5)

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Mentioned in this episode:

Jake and Ava- New Book by Jonathan Balcombe

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Episode 1 of Series 14: Dog's Days of Summer! This episode was archived from the Aggression in Dogs Conference 2022

In this first episode, Marika Bell revisits her conversation with Suzanne Clothier from the Aggression in Dogs Conference 2022, focusing on the individualistic approach to dog training and the deep connections between humans and animals, with co-host Kate Lasala providing her expertise as a dog behavior consultant and grief companion.

Guest Bio: Suzanne Clothier has worked with animals professionally since 1977, with a background includes obedience, agility, puppy testing, breeding, Search and Rescue, conformation, instructing, kennel management and AAT.
Her Relationship Centered Training™ approach blends science and heart to create humane, effective and practical solutions for dogs and the people who work with them, whether professional working dogs or couch warming companions. Her suite of assessment tools provide a powerful framework for trainers and organizations:

RAT™ (Relationship Assessment Tool) – handler/dog dynamics, rapid assessment plus ability to track and compare
CARAT™ (Clothier Animal Response Assessment Tool) – temperament assessment on 6 categories, 21 dimensions
FAT™ (Functional Assessment Tool, release in 2022) – global of functionality/welfare assessment across physiological, social and cognitive dimensions

Original Episode: 

38: Aggression in Dogs Con Mini-Series: with Suzanne Clothier Part 4

Related Episodes: 

E3: A Chat with Suzanne Clothier and Preparing Our Dogs for Post Pandemic Life

81: Expanding Understanding in Canine Behavior Evaluations with Suzanne Clothier (Part 1) S8

82: Expanding Understanding in Canine Behavior Evaluations with Suzanne Clothier (Part 2) S8

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Mentioned in this episode:

Jake and Ava- New Book by Jonathan Balcombe

www.jonathanbalcombe.com

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Join me and my guest co-host Dog trainer, Kate Lasala, from reimagine look at foundational episodes from series 1. 

These aren't repeats, they're focused episodes highlighting many of the ways that humans and their canine companions live and learn to thrive together. 

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Episode 8 of the series: Sex and Animals  Transcript

Dr. Lori Gruen, a philosopher and scholar in animal studies. Join us as to unpack what these primates can teach us about power, intimacy, and societal structures.

Guest: Lori Gruen is the William Griffin Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Science in Society at Wesleyan University where she also coordinates Wesleyan Animal Studies. Her work lies at the intersection of ethical and political theory and practice, with a particular focus on issues that impact those often overlooked in traditional ethical investigations, e.g. women, people of color, incarcerated people, non-human animals. She is currently working to unpack carceral logics by thinking through a complex set of issues like dignity, self-respect, empathy, disposability, and hope and hopelessness.

Book Recommendation:  Doggerel: Poems by Reginald Dwayne Betts 

Related Episodes: 

E10: The Vision and Mission of Born Free USA with CEO Angela Grimes

E22: Ecofeminism and Entangled Empathy with Lori Gruen

86: Can Dog Cuddling Influence Reduced Meat Consumption? Care Ethics with Dr. Maurice Hamington (S9)

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PHAIR Conference Coverage

New Miniseries begins Summer 2026

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Episode 7 of the series: Sex and Animals Transcript

Discover how captivity and artificial breeding programs impact these intelligent creatures' wellbeing and autonomy. Learn about the shift towards ethical practices.  

Guest: Lori Marino is a neuroscientist who has studied animal behavior, neuroanatomy, and intelligence for over thirty years. She is an adjunct professor in Animal Studies at New York University, Executive Director of The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project. Lori is internationally known for her work on the evolution of the brain and intelligence in dolphins and whales (as well as primates and farmed animals). She has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers, book chapters, and magazine articles on comparative brain anatomy and cognition, self-awareness in nonhuman animals, human-nonhuman animal relationships, and captive wild animal welfare.  Lori also works at the intersection of science and law. She is co-director of the Animal Law and Science Project at George Washington University and an adjunct faculty at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, where she co-teaches a course in Science of Animal Law and Policy

Book Recommendations: The Animals Lawsuit Against Humanity  by by Ikhwan al-Safa (Author), Rabbi Dan Bridge (Author), Rabbi Kalonymus (Author) 

Related Episodes:  

54: Shh- The Orcas are Hunting: The Quiet Sound Project with Rachel Aronson (Part 2)

48: Underwater Bioacoustics with Dr. Michelle Fournet (S6)

120. Should We Rethink Dog Neutering? Behavioral Insights from Dr. Stanley Coren (S13)

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Special Episode: Psychology for Human Animal Intergroup relations. PHAIR 2025 Register!  Transcript

Guests: Dr Matti Wilks is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton and Yale Universities. She is generally interested in morality and related things. Her research mostly focuses on the moral circle and moral development, with a particular focus on moral concern for distant others (distant people, non-human animals, AI) and the motivations of unusually altruistic individuals. She also examines perceptions of AI, attitudes towards cultured meat, and the natural-is-better bias. 

Dr Luke McGuire is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Exeter. His research focuses on social and moral development, with a particular focus on development in middle childhood and adolescence across a range of contexts where moral concerns conflict with social norms. Most recently, his research has come to focus on children’s and adolescents’ moral judgments about the treatment of non-human animals. This work has been published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Child Development, and Social Psychological and Personality Science. 

Book Recommendations

Matti's Rec: The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason

Luke's Rec: Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guinn

Other Conference Coverage (first episodes): 

34: Aggression in Dogs Conference Mini-Series: with Michael Shikashio, CDBC Part 1

58: Emerging Voices For Animals in Tourism Conference Miniseries (Part 1): Animal Experience International with Nora Livingstone

94. Rapid Environmental Change with Dr. Rachel Blakey and Dr. Kasey Fowler-Finn (S10)

Want to Sponsor a series or need a conference covered? [email protected]

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Mentioned in this episode:

PHAIR Conference Coverage

New Miniseries begins Summer 2026

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Episode 6 of the series: Sex and Animals Transcript 

Dr. Jonathan Balcombe elaborates on the nuanced distinctions between consciousness and sentience, emphasizing that emotions and feelings play crucial roles in animals' daily lives, much like in humans. 

Guest: Dr. Jonathan Balcombe is a biologist and ethologist whose work has reshaped how we think about animal consciousness and behavior. Born in England and raised in New Zealand and Canada, he spent decades in the U.S. before settling in southern Ontario, where he balances his scientific pursuits with a love for biking, baking, birding, and observing the ever-mysterious squirrels in his neighborhood.

Jonathan has authored five popular science books, including What a Fish Knows, Pleasurable Kingdom, and Super Fly, bringing compelling research on animal intelligence and emotion to a wide audience. His contributions extend beyond writing—he has published over 60 scientific papers, led academic departments, and worked as an editor, shaping conversations on animal sentience and protection. Jonathan works as an independent author, and performs editing services for aspiring and established authors. More...

Book Recommendation: Watership Down by Richard Adams

Related Episodes:  116. Creative Courtship: Lessons from Animal Others with Author, Dr. Carol Gigliotti (S13)

112. A Very Banksy Roundtable with Claudia Hirtenfelder and Shannon Johnstone

115. The Genitalia Arms Race! with Dr. Patty Brennan

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Mentioned in this episode:

Jake and Ava- New Book by Jonathan Balcombe

www.jonathanbalcombe.com

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Episode 5 of Series 13: Sex and Animals Transcript 

The spaying and neutering of dogs has often been a controversial topic. Along with the world renowned, Dr. Stanley Coren, the episode explores how spaying and neutering might affect canine behavior, questioning common practices and suggesting alternative approaches.

Guest Bio: Stanley Coren, PhD, DSc, FRSC, is an influential voice in the study of canine behavior and human-canine interactions. He served as a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, where he directed the Human Neuropsychology and Perception Laboratory until his retirement in 2007. 

Coren has published over 1,000 articles and 40 books, many of which have become bestsellers. His award-winning contributions to canine studies, such as How to Speak Dog, have been translated into more than 30 languages and recognized globally. 

He continues to share insights on canine behavior through his blog, Canine Corner, on Psychology Today's website. Further information is available on Wikipedia.

Book Recommendations: Dogs Demystified: An A-to-Z Guide to All Things Canine by Dr. Marc Bekoff and King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz

Related Episodes: 81: Expanding Understanding in Canine Behavior Evaluations with Suzanne Clothier (Part 1) S8

82: Expanding Understanding in Canine Behavior Evaluations with Suzanne Clothier (Part 2) S8

84: How To Build a Bond With a New Dog with Stacey Colino and Jen Golbeck (December Special!)

www.jonathanbalcombe.com
What a Fish Knows (NYTimes bestseller)
Super Fly (National Outdoor Book Award winner)
Jake and Ava: A Boy and a Fish (illustrated children's book)

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PHAIR Conference Coverage

New Miniseries begins Summer 2026

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Special Episode! 

" it seems to me that development could be as revolutionary as the domestication of animals itself 10, 000 years ago." - Dr. Shapiro

Technology's role in animal advocacy and science takes center stage. Lab-grown meat and alternatives to animal testing, such as organs on a chip, are highlighted as transformative developments that could profoundly reduce animal exploitation.

Guest Bio:  Dr. Kenneth Shapiro is cofounder and President of the Board of Animals and Society Institute, and founding editor of Society and Animals and other human-animal studies publications. With a BA from Harvard in American Studies and a PhD in Clinical and Personality Psychology from Duke, his work spans vegetarianism, animal advocacy, and critiques of lab research. He’s published books, including Animal Models of Human Psychology (1998), and guides on treating animal abuse. Based in Washington Grove, MD, he tends to a bluebird trail, a pollinator meadow, and enjoys vegan cooking. Learn more at animalsandsociety.org. 

Book Recommendation: Abundant Earth: Toward an Ecological Civilization by Eileen Crist

Related Episodes:  93: Human Relevant Testing: A Conversation on Enhancing Human Health and Animal Welfare with Dr. Aysha Akhtar (S9)

43: October Special! The Beagle Project with Lindsey Hamrick, HSUS

E21: Spring Special! Hal Herzog: On the the Past, Present, and Future of Anthrozoology

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Mentioned in this episode:

Jake and Ava- New Book by Jonathan Balcombe

www.jonathanbalcombe.com

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Episode 4 of series 13: Sex and Animals  Transcript

Being a researcher thoroughly acquainted with the Shackleford Banks horses during her PhD, she was uniquely positioned to investigate the behavioral changes noticed by the National Park Service when they introduced contraceptive management. This intervention aimed to control the horse population to protect the island's endangered plants and animals that were being impacted by overgrazing.

Guest Bio: Dr. Cassandra Nunez is interested in the effects of wildlife management practices on target species’ behavior and physiology, and  how these patterns can better inform management and advance basic knowledge of the linkages among animal behavior, physiology, and the surrounding ecology.

As human populations continue to grow, the management of wildlife species is becoming increasingly necessary. As stewards of wild populations, we have a responsibility to manage them with the most effective and ethical means possible.

 My research suggests that if we are to achieve this goal, we must better understand the potential individual- and population-level side-effects of our management practices. I incorporate the natural history, behavioral ecology, and the physiology of species to better understand these issues, to more effectively conserve and manage animal populations, and to better understand the basic biology of organisms.

Book Recommendations: An Immense World by Ed Yong and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal 

Related Episodes:  99. Reintroductions and Management with Dr Liz Peterson, Dr. Julie Young, and Dr. Rachel Chock (S10)

97. Urbanization and Industrialization (It's Effects on Behavior and Cognition) with Dr. Kathleen Church and Dr. Lauren Stanton (S10)

94. Rapid Environmental Change with Dr. Rachel Blakey and Dr. Kasey Fowler-Finn (S10)

E15: The History of the Conservation Movement with Author and Journalist, Michelle Nijhuis

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