We're Positively Obsessed with Dog Behavior.
Get practical dog training advice and learn how to work with your dog better thanks to expert dog trainers.
Our goal is to bring you really practical and thoughtful information on your dog’s behavior and how to work with your dog better. We’ll focus on problem behaviors for the most part, but we might also touch on obedience from time to time.
You can find us wherever podcasts are broadcasted, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
Consent in Training
In this episode of K9 Conservationists (previously called Canine Conversations), Kayla speaks with Erin Jones.They discuss the topic of consent in dogs. They cover what consent is, why it is ......
Introducing: K9 Conservationists
Hello and welcome to the K9 Conservationists Podcast! We’ve got a new name! As our loyal listeners know, we recently lost my beloved cohost Ursa. After giving it a LOT ......
Ep. 61: Shaping vs. Cueing with Hannah Branigan
Today we’re talking to Hannah Branigan about cueing versus shaping in your training sessions. Now this might sound a bit nerdy – and it probably will be – but it’s ......
Ep. 60: Updates and Hot Takes Part 3
Kayla and Ursa provide updates on their life and play another quick round of hot takes. They take turns pulling a topic from a hat, then they have 3 minutes ......
Ep. 59: Conservation Training with Ken Ramirez
Kayla and Ursa speak with Ken Ramirez about conservation training and detection dogs! Remember, you can now support the podcast through Patreon for as little as $3/month! Patrons can submit ......
Ep. 58: Hot Takes Part 2
Kayla and Ursa return for another Hot Takes. They take turns pulling a topic from a hat, then they have 3 minutes to give their thoughts on it – then ......
Ep. 57: Hot Takes (Part 1)
Kayla and Ursa try out a new format they’re calling Hot Takes. They take turns pulling a topic from a hat, then they have 3 minutes to give their thoughts ......
Ep. 56: Preparing for a New Puppy
Kayla and Ursa talk about how to prepare for a new puppy. See full show notes over at the Pandemic Puppy Podcast page. Don’t forget that you can support the ......
Ep. 55: Meeting Everyone’s Needs with Marissa Martino
In today’s episode, Kayla hopped on the line with Marissa, our former co-host. On the show, we discussed how to provide your dog with the necessary daily enrichment while also ......
Ep. 53: Case Study on Madge the Fearful Foster Dog
Kayla and Ursa discuss Kayla’s ultra-fearful foster dog Madge and answer Patreon questions about puppies and teenage dogs. We also have some exciting news: you can now support the podcast ......
Ep. 52: Dominance with Kim Brophey
Kim Brophey makes a return to talk about dominance from an ethological lens with Kayla. Don’t forget that for as little as $3/month you can submit questions to be answered ......
Ep. 51: Surviving the Holidays with Your Dog
Ursa and Kayla chat about surviving the holidays with your dog. Mentioned in this episode: Mat training Leave it or a positive interrupter Enrichment toys Management with crates, gates, tethers, ......
Ep. 49: Ethology with Kim Brophey
We take a brief break from our two-part behavioral euthanasia episodes to talk about ethology with Kim Brophey. Kayla and Kim discuss: What is ethology? How can ethology interface with ......
Ep. 48: Behavioral Euthanasia Part 1
Kayla and Ursa talk about the difficult topic of behavioral euthanasia for both pet and shelter dogs. Mentioned in this episode: Kayla’s article on Grey Zone Dogs from the IAABC ......
Ep. 46: Functional Breeding with Dr. Jessica Hekman
Kayla sits down with Dr. Jessica Hekman of the Functional Dog Collaborative to talk about breeding dogs for behavioral and physical health. They talk about how the FDC aims to ......
Ep. 47: Mythbusting Part 3
Join Kayla and Ursa as they discuss MORE myths about dog training and dog behavior. Covered in this episode: Greeting a dog after an absence creates separation anxiety See also: ......
Ep. 45: Can Dogs Be Racist?
Kayla sits down with Jio and Taylor from Smart Bitch Dog Training, Curtis from Pet Parent Allies, and Jenna from Dog Liaison to talk about whether or not dogs can ......
Ep. 44: Aggression in Dogs with Michael Shikashio
Kayla Fratt speaks to Michael Shikashio of AggressiveDog.com about some of Michael’s upcoming projects – including the virtual Aggression in Dogs conference this October and Michael’s podcast, The Bitey End ......
Ep. 43: Mythbusting Part Two
Join Marissa, Ursa, and Kayla as they discuss dog training myths including: Comforting a scared dog teaches the dog to be scared A single dog training class is all the ......
Ep. 42: Myth-Busting Part 1
Join Kayla, Ursa, and Marissa as they discuss some common myths about how dogs behave and how best to train them. The myths we discuss today include: Tail wags = ......
Ep. 41: Is Aggression Ever Fixed?
Join Marissa, Kayla, and Ursa as they discuss what aggression is and factors important in determining whether aggression is ever truly fixed. Can trigger be identified? How severe is the ......
Ep. 39: Exotic Animal Training with Emily Martin
How does being an exotic animal trainer and zookeeper relate to dog training? Kayla Fratt and Emily Martin discuss how the zoo field has made Emily a better dog trainer, ......
Ep. 38: Case Study on Dealing with Anxiety, Fear, and Reactivity
In today’s episode, Kayla and Marissa are joined by Kayla’s client Caroline to talk about Caroline’s dog Sonic. Sonic is a four-year-old chihuahua with a variety of different anxious and ......
Ep. 37: Separation Anxiety with Erin Jones
In today’s episode, Kayla sits down with Erin Jones to talk about separation anxiety. Erin wrote an e-book and created a course for Journey Dog Training all about separation anxiety. ......
Ep. 36: Splitting for Successful Training Sessions
Today’s episode includes creative ways to split steps in your training plans. A good dog trainer and behavior consultant knows that taking your time and moving at the pace of ......
Ep. 35: Let Them Sniff!
What is scent enrichment? And why is it important? Providing opportunities for the dog to engage his super power, his nose, in a variety of ways. Olfaction is the dog’s ......
Ep. 34: Types of Reinforcement
In today’s episode we’re going to discuss a variety of reinforcements you can offer your dog during training sessions and real life scenarios. One important point to remind our listeners ......
Ep. 33: Plenty in Life is Free With Kathy Sdao
Marissa Martino of Paws & Reward Dog Training in Boulder, CO interviews Kathy Sdao of Bright Spot Dog Training in WA. In today’s episode, they talk about a very important ......
Ep. 32: What Should I Do With This Puppy?
Kayla Fratt is joined by Megan Lundberg of Canine Coach training in Colorado to talk about all things puppies! Megan works for The Canine Coach running their puppy days school ......
Ep. 31: Dog Park Design and its Effect on Behavior with Jennifer Berg
Ursa Acree speaks to Jennifer Berg with Oberhund Dog Services in Regina, Saskatchewan. In this episode, they discuss Jennifer’s study on dog park design and how it affects dog behavior ......
Ep. 30: Potty Training Your Puppy
In today’s episode Kayla Fratt of Journey Dog Training and Marissa Martino of Paws & Reward talk about house training your puppy! Everyone’s favorite pastime! The first half of the ......
Ep. 29: Gut Health and Nutrition with Dr. Angie Krause
Today’s episode includes Marissa Martino, owner of Paws & Reward Dog Training in Boulder, CO and her dear friend and colleague, Dr. Angie Krause from Boulder Holistic Vet. This episode ......
Ep. 28: Breeder Talk Part 2
Kayla rejoins Danielle Spady and Susanne Shelton to talk about raising very young puppies – from ENS to Puppy Culture. They also discuss some common controversies in dog breeding, like ......
Ep. 27: Breeder Talk With Susanne Shelton and Danielle Spady
In today’s episode, Kayla sits down with Danielle Spady of Avid Aussies and Susanne Shelton of Austerlitz Shepherds – and they’re talking all things dog breeding! We discuss: How you ......
Ep. 26: Buddhist Advice for Compassionate Animal Care with Sarah Beasley (Bonus Episode)
Today’s episode includes Sarah Beasley, author of Kindness for All Creatures: Buddhist Advice for Compassionate Animal Care. Join us as we discuss the impetus for the book, dive into topics ......
Ep. 25: The Fallout of Punishment
Most of our listeners know that Ursa, Kayla and Marissa are all positive reinforcement trainers, meaning they stay far away from punishment at all costs. They would prefer to teach ......
Ep. 24: Drink With Your Dog
In this episode, Kayla is joined by Amber Quann of Summit Dog Training to talk about Amber’s Drink With Your Dog program. Kayla and Amber discuss: What inspired Amber to ......
Ep. 23: Choosing the Perfect Dog
Join Marissa, Kayla and Ursa discuss the process of choosing a dog, introduce topics to consider and learn how they chose their loved ones! Things to Consider: Take your time ......
Ep. 22: What Would Dr. Pachel Say?
Today’s episode includes Marissa Martino and the amazing Dr. Chris Pachel, board certified veterinary behaviorist. In the last episode with Dr. Pachel, we joked (but not really) about releasing an ......
Ep. 21: Outnumbered! Living in a Multi-Dog Household
Join Kayla and Ursa discuss the gifts and challenges with living in a multi-dog household! They introduce 5 topics to consider when living with several dogs: Make sure to spend ......
Ep. 20: Crossover Training with Janee Moore
In dog training, there are two broad camps of training philosophy: those who train using aversive tools like prong or e-collars, and those who don’t. Of course, it’s more complicated ......
Ep. 19: Top 5 Behaviors We Would Teach Every Dog
What top 5 behaviors would you teach every dog if you had the opportunity? This is the question that was asked before we pressed the record button. All three of ......
Ep. 18: Working With a Vet Behaviorist With Dr. Chris Pachel
In today’s episode, Marissa Martino of Paws & Reward interviews the amazing Dr. Chris Pachel, board certified veterinary behaviorist. Learn what it’s like working with a veterinary behaviorist and how ......
Ep. 17: Working Dogs for Conservation (Kayla’s Update)
When we started this podcast, Kayla (of Journey Dog Training) was living in Mexico, working as a freelance writer. Over the last 16 episodes, she drove through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, ......
Ep. 16: Street Dogs with Michael Shikashio
In this episode of Canine Conversations, Kayla talks to Michael Shikashio about street dogs in Latin America. Michael has traveled to Mexico, Colombia, and Chile, where he enjoys observing the ......
Ep. 15: Science, Take the Wheel: Drive in Dogs
In this episode, Kayla talks to Sarah Dixon about the concept of drive in dogs. Sarah is the president of the board of the International Association of Animal Behavior. She ......
Ep. 14: Dogs and the Great Outdoors
In today’s episode, we are going to talk about heading outdoors with dogs. Our guest, Pine Irwin of Irwin Dog Training, specializes in outdoor adventures. She teaches private lessons and ......
Ep. 13: Online Dog Training
In this episode, we’re talking about how remote or online dog training works. Kayla runs JourneyDogTraining.com, where she works exclusively with people online and remotely. Marissa is also launching some ......
Ep. 12: Common Treat-Training Problems and How to Fix Them
Today’s episode discusses the 8 problems with using treats in your training sessions. Food reinforcement is a powerful way to get and maintain the behaviors we want from our dogs ......
Ep. 11: Listener Questions
In this episode, Kayla from Journey Dog Training covers five different Listener Questions about all sorts of dog behavior questions. Lunge-y Hound Dog Kathy has a hound dog that lunges ......
Ep. 10: What Behavior Consultants Can Learn from Sport Dog Trainers
In this episode, Kayla speaks to Sarah Stremming from The Cognitive Canine about what dog behavior consultants can learn from sport dog trainers. Sarah’s niche is to work with behavior ......
Ep. 09: A Discussion on the No-Kill Animal Sheltering Movement
In this episode, Marissa, Ursa, and Kayla talk about the no-kill animal sheltering movement. All 3 of our hosts have worked at open-admission animal shelters and have had to work ......
Ep. 08: Mechanics Matter with Emily Strong
In this episode, we are joined by the amazing Emily Strong of First Train Home and From Beaks To Barks! Emily is a great dog and people trainer! In this ......
Ep. 07: How Medical Concerns Affect Behavior with Dr. Jennifer Summerfield
In this episode, we interview Dr. Jennifer Summerfield, veterinarian, and professional dog trainer. Dr. Summerfield focuses on treating behavior problems including aggression, separation anxiety, and compulsive behavior issues. She meets ......
Ep. 06: Deepening Your Relationship With Your Dog, Part 2
About This Episode: In 2017, Marissa wrote a book titled: Human-Canine Behavior Connection – A Better Self Through Dog Training. In this book, she explores her favorite topic: relationships. One ......
Ep. 05: Human-Canine Behavior Connection Part 1
In 2017, Marissa wrote a book titled: Human-Canine Behavior Connection – A Better Self Through Dog Training. In this book, she explores her favorite topic: relationships. One of the relationships ......
Ep. 04: Introducing Cats and Dogs – Bella, Cooper, and Checkers Case Study
In this episode, we cover a case study where a newly-adopted female Yorkshire Terrier chased and barked at the cat, Checkers in the home. Her behavior was starting to cause ......
Ep. 03: Preventing Reactivity and Aggression
Canine Conversations discusses the four steps that they take every day with their dogs to prevent reactivity. Many trainers consider reactivity (dogs that bark and lunge) to be a contagious ......
Ep. 02: 5 Things Dog Trainers Do Differently From Pet Parents
Canine Conversations discusses the tricks dog trainers use to get good behavior from their own dogs – so that you can use them too! Trainers have the benefit of behavior ......
Ep. 01: Meet the Canine Conversations Crew!
Meet the crew of Canine Conversations Podcast. Hear about the crew’s childhoods, how they get into dog training, where their businesses are now, and why they are positively obsessed with ......
Ep. 40: Education and Certifications for Trainers
Join Kayla and Marissa discuss continuing education opportunities and the importance of certifications. This episode is designed to help support your educational journey and the resources listed below should give ......
