Dialogues with Daniel

When owning a dog makes your world smaller rather than bigger, how do you cope?
For many people, dog ownership brings companionship, social connections and new experiences. But living with a reactive dog can turn those expectations upside down, bringing isolation, anxiety, frustration and the constant pressure of managing situations that other owners take for granted.
In this episode, we continue our conversations with Katherine and Debbie, exploring the emotional realities of life with Ross and Roscoe.
Drawing on scientific research alongside personal experiences, we discuss the judgement owners can face, the challenges of keeping  dogs and others safe, the overwhelming amount of sometimes conflicting advice available, and the emotional highs and lows of making progress.
We also explore why quick fixes and one-size-fits-all approaches can be counterproductive, and how understanding each dog's individual needs, including their physical health, is essential.
Perhaps the most important message is that progress isn't necessarily about changing who your dog is, but about learning to understand and support the dog you have.
This is an honest, sometimes emotional, but ultimately hopeful conversation about acceptance, resilience and the importance of finding the right support.
🎧 Join us for Episode 2 of Pet Behaviour Odysseys.
#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

In this new season, Milly and Daniel return to discuss the experience of reactive dog ownership; something which Milly has first hand experience of with Amber. We introduce you to Ross and Roscoe and their dedicated carers. These are individuals who sought to navigate the Odyssey of reactive dog ownership and care, striving to strike a balance between their dog's needs and their own.
What's it really like to share your life with a reactive dog?
For many owners, it's a journey marked by unexpected challenges, isolation, frustration and sometimes guilt. But it's also a journey of understanding, acceptance and discovering new ways to enjoy life together.
Despite very different backgrounds and experiences, the stories of all three carers reveal some striking similarities. They have all faced the emotional challenges of living with a reactive dog, the judgement of others and the frustration of being told their dogs simply need more training.
Through their honest and sometimes moving accounts, we explore why reactivity isn't simply a training problem, how our expectations of dog ownership can be challenged, and why understanding the individual dog is so important.
This season isn't about quick fixes or miracle cures. It's about listening to real experiences, challenging misconceptions and exploring how we can improve quality of life for both dogs and their owners.
🎧 Join us for the beginning of two very personal odysseys.
If you have ever owned a reactive dog, you will know how isolating and stressful it can be; how difficult it can be to make realistic, humane decisions. This series is dedicated to you. 
If you know anyone with a reactive dog, please help them by letting them know about this series. We hope that by sharing these experiences, carers will feel reasured and confident enough to make better decisions. 
#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

For over a century, our scientific understanding of animals has undergone a massive paradigm shift. We’ve moved away from viewing animals merely as biological machines to recognising them as psychologically complex, sentient beings whose quality of life depends on dynamic interactions between brain, body, and environment.
Here is an AI generted podcast that discusses my recent resentation "A History of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine and Animal Welfare Science" that highlights how veterinary behavioural medicine and animal welfare science evolved through four key conceptual revolutions:
1. The Behaviorist Era: Focused on learning history, antecedents, and external consequences to modify observable behaviour.
2. The Medical Model (Veterinary Psychiatry): Framed behavioural issues as neurological or physical disorders requiring formal diagnoses and medical interventions.
3. The Psychobiological Synthesis: Applied affective neuroscience (pioneered by the late great Jaak Panksepp) to ground animal emotions in biologically conserved systems.
4. The Emergins Systems & Ecosystem Approach: Seeks to highlight how biological, psychological, and environmental factors interact over an individual's entire lifespan.
💡The core clinical question has evolved from "What is the animal doing?" to "What is the animal experiencing?". This shift allows the veterinary profession to move beyond merely caring about disease prevention and productivity to comprehensively caring for individual animals by protecting their emotional well-being and quality of life.
#VeterinaryMedicine #AnimalBehaviour #Ethology #AffectiveNeuroscience #VeterinaryScience
#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

In this final episode we look back with Becky and Craig on their personal pet behaviour Odyssey and how far they have come. They share the insights they have gained and how this has helped to built their relationship. They discuss the many positives of the journey but also the challenges they met on the way. Every client is an individual and every case is a unique  learning opportunity for us as clinicians, so we share what we learned on the way too. However we leave the last word to Becky and we hope you find her words inspirational. 
Thank you for listening. We hope this was useful to youo. 
If you liked this video please help to spread the word and share it with your friends, like, subscribe and turn on notifications (click/tap on the bell by the subscribe button).

Footnote for those seeking professional support: 
If you are in the UK and would like help with your pet’s behaviour, we encourage  you to seek professional advice. A list of Certificated clinical animal behaviourists, including the presenters of this show can be found at www.ccab.uk/. 
You can also find further details of the Lincoln Animal Behaviour Clinic at animalbehaviourclinic.lincoln.ac.uk/.  
In Europe, if you want to find a veterinary behaviourist you can find a list of Diplomates (individuals who have the highest level of training available in the field) at https://www.ecawbm.org/diplomates-list. 
In North America, you can find a directory of certified applied animal behaviorists at https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/committees-applied-behavior-directory.php and board certified veterinary behaviorists at: https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709.
#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/

When we ask clients to do something it is important that we support them throughout the process. What a client needs at this time is not the same as what they need to encourage initial action. At this time things like reinforcement for progress, become particularly important, as do helpful relationships that support the change process.  Again this is something that is perhaps not as widely appreciated as it should be. This aspect of treatment forms the basis of the current episode. Becky and Craig discuss the highs and lows of their Odyssey. They also share with us, what it was that made them think they were making progress.  They  thus provide invaluable insight for others. What an owner sees as an important marker of success and what a clinician sees as important in this regard are not always the same initially. We must listen to our clients and help them achieve meaningful goals. 

If you liked this video please help to spead the word and share it with your friends, like, subscribe and turn on notifications (click/tap on the bell by the subscribe button).

Footnote for those seeking professional support: 
If you are in the UK and would like help with your pet’s behaviour, we encourage  you to seek professional advice. A list of Certificated clinical animal behaviourists, including the presenters of this show can be found at www.ccab.uk/. 
You can also find further details of the Lincoln Animal Behaviour Clinic at animalbehaviourclinic.lincoln.ac.uk/.  
In Europe, if you want to find a veterinary behaviourist you can find a list of Diplomates (individuals who have the highest level of training available in the field) at https://www.ecawbm.org/diplomates-list. 
In North America, you can find a directory of certified applied animal behaviorists at https://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/committees-applied-behavior-directory.php and board certified veterinary behaviorists at: https://www.dacvb.org/search/custom.asp?id=4709.
#petbehaviourodysseys #whatmakesyouclick #PBO #professordanielmills #profdsm #reactivedog #DogBehaviour #AnimalWelfare #VeterinaryBehaviour #DogOwners https://companionanimalconsulting.com/