What Makes You Click?

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?);  al...

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 religio...

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...

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.  #petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

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 inter...

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 #petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

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 able to find solutions, and I try to convince him, that we should consider human behaviour change methods more. We can agree to disagree and not...

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! #petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

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 educating both vets and owners. We also look to the future and what we feel are the priorities. Sarah is extremely candid about the impact of the h...

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 aware of some of the other methods for evaluating biological phenomena that cannot be so easily reduced to physical entities.  fascinating chat.  #pe...

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! #petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

I catch up with my former PhD student Karen Griffin, and discuss the first paper we produced from her PhD and its wider implications : Griffin, K. E., John, E., Pike, T., & Mills, D. S. (2020). Can this dog be rehomed to you? A qualitative analysis and assessment of the scientific quality of the potential adopter screening policies and procedures of rehoming organisations. Frontiers in Veterin...

This was such a blast! In this episode I get to catch up with my friend and world leading trainer Jean Donaldson, author of the pioneering text "the culture clash". We quickly get into our stride, and cover so much. Jean is quite a behaviourist, and her views about some of the more apparently  "cognitive"training methods are fasscinating and worth reflecting on. So much here. ...

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

#petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO

In this episode I chat with renowned dog trainer and veterinarian, Dr Ian Dunbar, about how he ended up working in the field, and the how training can become more scientific. We also talk about the unexpected results of some recent work I have just been doing with a student, which was inspired by a training tip  Ian gave me a long time ago (and I learn how I had misunderstood what he was suggestin...

A conversation with inspirational pioneer of veterinary behaviour Professor Kathe Houpt, where we discuss her interests and influences.  #petbehaviourodysseys, #whatmakesyouclick #PBO