The Bitey End of the Dog

What does the study of neuroscience have to do with aggression in dogs ? A lot. In this episode I take a deep dive into what happens in the brain with none other than Dr. Kathy Murphy. Kathy always has amazing insight about what happens when a dog might be barking, lunging, growling, snarling, or biting, from a neurobiological perspective . And we also discuss what we can do to help dogs from this...

In this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog , I have the pleasure of chatting with Cecilia Erhabor of Player Two Dog Training . I truly want to thank Cecilia for this special episode as she discusses her own experience with anxiety and panic attacks and how that has helped her understand what many of the dogs may suffer from in our own work with aggression cases. This understanding...

One of my absolute favorite things about traveling is not so much seeing all the typical tourist attractions, but going out and watching the behavior and culture of dogs in countries . We can learn so, so much by observing how dogs navigate their worlds in other places on our planet. And I’ve been wanting to chat with Sindhoor Pangal for a long time because she is one of the world’s foremost exper...

Have you heard about the constructional approach to working with fearful or aggressive dogs? And maybe you've heard about systems based approaches to problem solving behavior challenges? For this inaugural episode of Fresh Bites , which is a shorter version of the bite into the dog on a focus topic, where we bring in guests with unique and inspiring ideas to working with aggression in dogs. I...

Dr. Amber Batson is my guest for the season finale of The Bitey End of the Dog, and what a way to top off the amazing line-up of experts this year! This episode is packed with mind blowing insights from Dr. Batson on some hot topics including the connection between microbiomes and behavior, rethinking the puppy socialization windows, and even the controversial topic of diet and aggression. Amber&a...

This is a very special episode for this podcast as Laura Monaco Torelli joins me to share her personal and poignant experience from a traumatic dog attack that occurred two years ago.  I want to thank Laura for trusting me as a friend and colleague to have a safe space to talk about the terrifying events from that day. I also want to give a trigger warning for this episode as we discuss a dog atta...

Muzzles can be a dog’s best friend, and in this episode, we focus on all things muzzle related. Sarah McManaman, my trusty sidekick and social media manager for The MuzzleUp! Project is my very special guest, and we have a fun troubleshooting session based on questions from MuzzleUp fans. We discuss solutions on things like what to do if you’re not sure if the muzzle is the right fit, or your dog...

You are not going to want to miss any part of this episode. Kim Brophey is back by popular demand! Last season, Kim broke the dog training internet with her unique, and enlightening view of dog behavior through her LEGS model - Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self, and she has been in demand ever since, having countless requests for interviews and podcast appearances.  We continue where we le...

Nando Brown and Jo-Rosie Haffenden are my wonderful and often hilarious guests on this episode, and we unpack some interesting and sometimes controversial constructs when talking about aggression, including things like drive, arousal, and predatory behavior. We also discuss the need to understand breed specific behaviors and the genetics involved, with a focus on bully breeds. Nando and Jo-Rosie&a...

Dr. Melanie Cerrone is my very special guest for this episode and we get to chat about the human side of behavior consulting, as well as some of the common issues we might encounter in our work, because after all, we are working mostly with people when it comes to aggression cases.   We discuss the “helping alliance,” which is a powerful tool to build trusting relationships with our clients and wh...

Pain in dogs. It’s a very common underlying cause for aggression. You are not going to want to miss this episode. I have the honor of chatting with Dr. Debbie Torraca about a number of very interesting topics that should stir up some conversation in the dog training community. We talk about the behaviors to look for when a dog is in pain; the impact of different training tools on a dog’s structure...

As many of you dedicated listeners know, most of the episodes in this podcast focus on dogs, of course. This time, we are going to dive deep into the human side of the relationship.  In this episode, I chat with Clair Hickson, who has a wonderfully unique perspective and approach to working with the humans in aggression cases. We explore something called the grief cycle, which can be a common prog...

I’ve been wanting to catch up with Suzanne for quite some time, and finally get a chance to chat with her about her Relationship Centered Training approach, and why the relationship between a dog and owner can be so crucial in aggression cases. We also unpack the Treat and Retreat protocol, and some of the common issues that can creep into our progress if used incorrectly. Suzanne never disappoint...

In this episode, I chat with none other than Kathy Sdao, and we had a chance to dive deep into applied behavior analysis and its application in aggression cases and I get to pick her brain about things like reverse order conditioning and how that can be a significant problem in aggression cases, such as when a dog isn’t taking treats in certain situations, the premium length of a session to work w...

T his episode is the season finale for The Bitey End of the Dog, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for listening, sharing the podcast, and for your wonderful feedback! It has been an incredible experience for me to chat with such amazing and enlightening guests.  With that being said, stay tuned for Season 2 where I will be bringing on some more fascinating experts from around the wo...

You know we had to have an episode on puppies and aggression! In this episode I have the pleasure of chatting with Janet Cutler, who is an expert on puppies and has researched puppy socialization while earning her PhD. We discuss why puppies may display aggressive behaviors at such a young age, and what factors might influence aggression. We also chat about things like the secondary imprint period...

If you get a dopamine rush when geeking out to the science of behavior, this episode is for you. I literally could not wait to release this show because it is packed with so many mind blowing insights! Dr. Simon Gadbois is someone I’ve been wanting to interview to get his take on aggression, and he does not disappoint. I pick Simon’s brain about topics such as behavioral endocrinology and how horm...

One of the most important aspects of successfully working aggression cases is often collaborating as a team with a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist.    I’m super excited to bring in another Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist for this season. I get to chat with Dr. E’lise Christensen, who is the chief medical officer for Behavior Vets, with locations in NYC and Colorado. We talk about how...

I have to say, recording these podcasts has been an incredible experience for me, as I am learning so much from each and every guest.  Jen Shryock is another passionate expert that I had the pleasure of chatting with, and learned more about children and dogs, and how we can keep both safe.    We talk about what to look for as red flags for potential problems between kids and dogs, how we can help...

In this episode I chat with Sue Sternberg, a world renowned dog behavior expert who has devoted her personal and professional life to helping dogs and people live together happily.    We talk about the street dogs we had the pleasure of observing when we were together in Valle De Bravo, Mexico, and the profound difference in behavior with dogs in the United States. I also pick Sue’s brain on her f...

In this episode I chat with Grisha Stewart, the founder of the well known protocol for reactive dogs, Behavior Adjustment Training.    We talk about how BAT has evolved, when it can be incredibly useful, and how it can be integrated with other strategies for other problem behaviors, such as when a dog is showing true predation, or as we call it in the episode, when a dog is actually having fun. Ag...

In this episode I take a little detour from my usual format of talking about aggression in dogs, and chat with Matt Beisner, star of the show Dog Impossible on Nat Geo wild.    We talk about how we ended up meeting in the first place, Matt’s journey and evolution, and the need for inclusivity, tolerance, and compassion in the dog training community. All things that are much needed right now.  Aggr...

In this episode I  chat with Emily Strong and Allie Bender, authors of Canine Enrichment for the Real World.   Emily, Allie, and I get to geek out a bit, and chat about things like agency, modal action patterns, and stereotypies in dogs. But of course, we also dive deep into what enrichment really is, and why it matters so much in aggression cases. AggressiveDog.com Educational Offerings Aggressio...

In this episode I chat with Jim Crosby about all things dog bites, the forensics of dog attacks and dog bite fatalities, police encounters with dogs, and I get a truly fascinating look into the world of severe dog aggression incidents.   I do want to give a content warning that Jim and I will be discussing severe dog attacks and fatalities that some listeners may be sensitive to. Listener discreti...

In this episode I chat with Kim Brophey about why we should view our dog’s behavior through more than one lens; all things ethology and aggression; why the breed of a dog matters; and the topic of predatory aggression of which Kim and I have a little debate of what to really call "it." AggressiveDog.com Educational Offerings Aggression in Dogs Conference Kim Brophey is an applied etholog...