We're all screwed up (and that's OK)

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss the difference between changing behaviour in a dog (constant repetition of the more desirable behaviour) and changing behaviour in a person (rewiring the brain through conversation). I think we answer the cliffhanger from the last podcast where we talk about the concept of changing behaviour with no backsies!

We talk about feeling hopeless when you want to help everyone, and how to outwit your circumstances so that you can deal with feeling overwhelmed more effectively

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss pathways and brain rewiring again - it's a favourite subject of ours. We talk about the different approaches to dog trainining - positive only, force free, balanced, and if one size can fit all. 

We talk about pattern interrupts and how the same process works in dogs and humans. First interrupt the pathway (existing behaviour) and then create a different pathway (new behaviour). We can use tapping for this in humans and Dawn explains how. We can use haptics like and ecollar to do this with dogs. 

This leads to the inevitable conversation about punishment vs praise. 

Finally we talk about "one session" interventions for dogs and humans. Can they really work? 

Warning - we leave you with a cliffhanger at the end and you'll have to listn to the next episode to learn more. 

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discus lots of dog stuff. In fact if you don't have a dog and are not interested in dogs, you may want to skip this one!

Jess has a good old whinge about German Shepherds

We discuss Dawn's theory on why you need to be a shiny thing, and how to go about it

Why can it be a problem for dogs to be on lead, when they are fine off it?

And finally... How to choose a trainer ( also applies to therapist!!

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

 Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss empathy and language. This is really good one for anyone who has to communicate with another human (who doesn't?)!  

We talk about the power of language and and how it can be used for good (to help people change) or badly (manipulation)

What is empathy? Where does it come from and what is its purpose? Do dogs have empathy? Should they? 

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by returning guest Professor Trevor Harley (and his dog Beau).

We start off talking about what makes use human and Trevor shares his theory that our brains are just perception machines. From there we explore the brain works, often comparing to dog brains (as is usual!). Everything comes down to connection, whether connections in the white matter in our brains, or social connections that have been shown to slow aging. 

We end up talking about meta-awareness. 

*These podcasts are a recorded conversation in Starbucks so the sound quality may not be as good as you are used to in a podcast"

In this episode Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by Derek Mawhinney, who works in property development. But he's not with us to talk about property! We talk about the mind, spirituality, overcoming your past trauma and the use of psychedelics to reach higher consciousness. 

We love a good conversation about consciousness and purpose and Derek brings a new way of looking at things to our discussion. 

Not that I think you would listen to these podcasts with kids, but if you do, please be aware that this podcast contains swearing. 

In this episode, Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by Michelle Getty, a dog trainer. 

We talk about the discussions that happen around ecollars (contact collars) and the different ways people react. Jess gets herself thrown out of an ecollar group - and explains why. We talk about kids versus dogs and how praise works way better than fear,  but this time in the context of what we viable options we have instead. 

Jess is very tired, and Jess and Michelle have both been bitten by dogs this week so apologies if it's a little more fluffy and random than your usual podcasts!

In this episode Dawn Walton, a human therapist, Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist, and Gemma Kirk, who is used to working with young people in care, talk about hypervigilance in dogs and humans. We discuss the difference between hypervigilance and other states such as anxiety and anger. As we talk we end up comparing care homes and young offender institutes to kennels - there are disturbing similarites!

We discuss the physiology of stress.

And we talk about what resilience really is - it might not be what you think. 

The internet has made information so readily available that few people look beyond the information presented. They think more about the What and less about the Why. 

So you could look up how to lead train your dog and find a bunch of steps to follow. All good if it works. But if it doesn't, you need to look at WHY you took those steps so you can adapt. You need to understand about motivating your dog to look at you and follow your instructions; how to use treats and praise to encourage behaviour. The What tells you what to do with the lead and how to respond when your dog pulls. The Why tells you that you first need motivation for your dog to listen to you. 

Did you realise that a growl, unchecked, may often lead to a bite? We discuss why, particularly focussing on Christmas - a tricky time of year for dog trainers as dog bites increase significantly

This leads on to a bigger problem. Do we know how to discuss and debate information any more? Can we question and be curious? Are we all looking for a quick fix / magic wand?

Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist, and Dawn Walton, a human therapist, also talk about the difference between academic knowledge vs online qualifications vs practical experience and look into the sinister side of shiny marketing.