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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 well as some of the...

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 regulation and...

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 University, where...

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 good...

In this episode I get to chat with pioneer in HAI and visiting professor at Lincoln, Dr Sandra McCune.  Sandra qualified as a registered veterinary nurse (Royal College of Veterinary Nursing) in Dublin before completing a degree in zoology from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. She has a PhD in animal behaviour and welfare from the University of Cambridge, U.K. She has studied a range of companion animal topics including aspects of temperament, behaviour, cognition and welfare, and...

In this chat I catch up with French veterinarian and behaviour scientist Patrick Pageat. Patrick is the father of pheromonatherapy, being the person who developed the first commercial pheromone products for companion animals (Feliway and Adaptil). He is also the originator of what has become known as the "French" approach to clinical animal behaviour and in this chat discusses how it came about and how his views of this approach have changed over time - to the point that he is concerned how...

In this episode I get to catch up with Kendal Shepherd, who has created a range of resources to help reduce the risk of conflict between dogs and humans of all ages. Kendal has a remarkable ability to simplify complex ideas to make them more accessible. She is also a leading expert witness in cases involving dog injuries and the Dangerous Dogs Act.

In this episode I get to catch up with my former tutor at Bristol, Prof Christine Nicol. She discusses how nerve-wracking it was to start out at Bristol, but how she came to lead the development of perhaps the biggest animal welfare group in the world. We discuss ethical and practical issues concerning animal welfare research and its communication to a wider audience (Would you eat an alien?);  also a bit about our horse work.

I have known Don for many years, indeed he was my PhD examiner, and we had great discussion then! He was the first professor of Animal Welfare in the world - a truly amazing pioneer. Always thoughtful and thought-provoking. We discuss his early career and influences, the emergence of animal welfare as a scientific field, as well as how he has got interested in the evolution of morality and religion and his greatest achievements. Essential listening for anyone interested in animal welfare and...

I catch up with pioneering cat behaviourist and anthrozzologist Dennis Turner. We talk about how he ended up in this field and some of the people he has met along the way. As always Dennis is candid aboout his opinions and provides valuable insight into various aspects of the field. I really enjoyed hearing about Paul Leyhausen, who wrote the seminal text on cat behaviour and while I have his book, much of his research is in German. Dennis also flags some other researchers who be less well...

In this episode I catch up with  companion animal blogger and psychologist Zazie Todd PhD. We discuss the public communication of science and some of the challenges associated with selling positive trainign methods. We also discuss her late arrival to the love of dogs. 

In this episode I catch up with Simon Gadbois. His father was a student of Piaget, and he himself did his PhD with the late great John Fentress ( a former student of Robert Hinde). So he has a really balanced view of the ehtological-psychological distinction. His work on how complex behaviours can arise from relatively simple rules without complex cognition is fascinating and he has a strong interest in the philosophy of science; both topics we cover in this episode, before moving on to to...

In this second part of our chat we discuss issues rtelating to the learning quadrant:  reinforcement and punishment, before moving on to misunderstandings concerning dominance especially in wolves

In this episode I catch up with Roger Mugford. He was the person who first inspired me and many others to get into behaviour.  Never one to avoid controversy, this episode may not be to everyone's liking as Roger argues about the importance of being...

In this episode I get to chat with pioneer in the field James Serpell. We talk about his amazing book, "In the Company of Animals", CBARQ and FeBarQ, and generally about HAI stuff. Lovely to catch up, even if I was thrown by his beard!

In this episode I chat with pioneering veterinary behaviourist Sarah Heath. I have known Sarah since we were both students at Bristol, and so this episode becomes quite  a personal one. We discus important influences and in particular the importance of...

My chat with Clive is divided into 2 parts. In part 1 we discuss animal cognition and his academic background, which gives him such a  refreshingly balanced perspective on things. Always knew Clive was a deep thinker, but did not appreciate he was so...

In Part 2 of my chat with Clive, we talk about his book "Dog is Love". In this we share our views of the dog-human relationship and its origins, and point to some future directions for research. Fascinating and illuminating!