We're all screwed up (and that's OK)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about addiction and what it really means. It can be used in a positive way in dog training. (please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about the new Mali puppy that Jess has called Percival, and how he is already demonstrating behaviours that could lead to large problems once he's older, if you didn't have a knowledgeable owner. He's quite difference to the golden retriever puppies. We talk about the looking at the behaviour rather than using labels to set expectations, and providing alternative behaviour choices rather than just trying to control the dog. What is the intent behind the behaviour? We talk about the transformation in the owners who were on the most recent residential and how they were able to apply what they learnt to new owners with over-reactive dogs. We refer to "The Decisive Moment" by Jonah Lehrer and the Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck and how hard it is to get humans to recognise change. We need to redefine failure and focus more on the process and the progress. (please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about animal welfare and how we seem to have lost the idea that our dogs have their own needs. Jess talks about the idea of needing something more than food and shelter to meet these needs and gives us two scenarios to consider with two different islands.

On that note - do you remember the Timotei advert? Willow doesn't but then she's only 15!

This is recorded on a snazzy new microphone in Tim Hortons. Does it work for you?

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about empathy and what it really means. Of course we then discuss how that applies to dogs! There was an altercation in Starbucks the other day and we discuss the different ways we both interpreted the event.

Jess talks about John Calhoun's NIMH experiment where rats where given free and easy access to all necessary resources to study the impact on longevity. You can watch a video about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CXj0AGuh4c

Finally we look at the difference between working on symptoms (the branches of a tree) and root cause (the roots of the tree)

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about the residentials they are doing for owners of reactive dogs, and the disparity between having a predator living in our house, and the cute puppy that we often see them as.

We talk about the fight, flight and freeze response - and the similarities between dogs and humans.

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by Jessie Montague (story_of_Atlas on instagram) to discuss the current process where owners are attending a 6 day residential with their reactive dog. What is so different about Jess's approach (hint: it's not just how well she understands dogs - it's a team effort)

2 months down the line, Jessie is able to share some of the things she has learned from the journey. It is quite the journey for a dog and the human!

We talk about the social contract with our pet dogs, and what happens when they break it. (please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

In this episode Dawn Walton, a human behaviourist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist decide to refer to themselves as Dr. Dawn and Dr. Jess. Why? Because we talk about the problems with taking a solely academic approach and end up talking about physics. What is it that makes us think that a dog or a person has bad energy? How do we convert energy that appears chaotic into something useful?

Maybe the problem with energy is not so much the nature of energy itself, but when it's blocked.

This episode is taken from a zoom call so not so much background noise - yay!

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss the reason we get a dog, and why owners struggle so much when their dog develops behaviour problems. Hint: It's nothing to do with the dog! What is critical for survival in each species? In a herd animal like a horse it's being able to stand up and run asap. In a predator like a dog it's not attacking when they are not big enough so a puppy will keep close to its mother. A human baby can't even sit up for 8 months! So in humans the bond with your mother is critical for survival. This means we are programmed to make sure we are loved. This can cause huge issues if you get a dog for unconditional love and then it stops listening to you - or worse, bites you! (please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Jess, a dog behaviourist, and Dawn, a human therapist, were up in Cullen to do workshops. It was a beautiful cottage down by the sea, so this episode is recorded in front of a roaring fire in a cottage in Cullen, instead of the hubbub of Starbucks. In this episode they talk more about how therapy works, and some of the hurdles that make it hard to spot change. What they do is only a very small part of the process.

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist take a deeper look at therapy with Dawn. Exactly how does brain reprogramming work? Dawn gives some personal examples to explain it all.

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about the remarkable change in Jessie after her therapy, showing us how important it is to work on the owner just as much as the dog. We kind of knew that already but this really showed how powerful our partnership is.

Jess has new therapy puppies in training - this time they are golden retrievers - and they are visiting lots of places, including our local women's prison. Remarkable things happen when puppies are in the mix!

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist continue to talk about choices from the last episode of the podcast.

They discuss the difference in addressing an issue with a child that hits and bites, and a dog that does the same! They deep dive into just how Dawn approaches finding out what is causing someone an issue and once more get quite up close and personal with something that caused Jess a problem in the past.

The case study of Atlas and his owners - Jessie and Sean - also features a lot in this episode

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist do a download after running the first workshop to level up dog trainers over the weekend.

There is lots of conversation about the challenges of working with rehab dogs - how it's about so much more than the dog. As ever we discuss the psychology of humans, and in this episode we are looking at the difference between male and female dog owners, and the scale of impact that people can expect after therapy sessions with Dawn.

The case study of Atlas and his owners - Jessie and Sean - also features a lot in this episode

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about differences in opinion with training approaches and therapy approaches, and how everyone believes that theirs is the right one! Jess and Dawn compare similarities in how they are often both the last choice, after people have tried many other things first. This can lead to a lot of pressure and expectations on them to do something noone else has done...and for it to work!

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk all things dog and human. Jess has been talking to lots of Vizla owners since Atlas came for his residential. We talk about reprogramming people and dogs.

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist delve into the human emotion behind our dogs: the Disney version which leads us into background information on the high profile case of Atlas (@Story_of_Atlas on Instagram) and the detective work and skills around bringing him into feeling safe in my environment and keeping this up when he goes home. We also mention hormones affecting behaviour and Romanian street dogs including the famous Sophie who is, 6 months on, still nervous about strangers (how we wish we could help!)

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about Dawn's approach to measuring how full-filled we are in life using a sort of emotional meter system. She represents this in coloured liquids in test tubes in a test tube rack. The idea is that we may struggle to feel fulfilled or even happy in life if one or more of the meters is too low. Dawn defines these meters as:

• Be Loved / feel loveable
• Feel secure / stable
• Have fun in your life
• Feel connected
• Feel attractive
• Be able to connect with like minded people who are on the same level as you

We need to be aware that:

a. We have a meter that is not full enough

b. We can find a way of filling it

c. It is not realistic to expect one person e.g. a partner, to fill all our meters. We are responsible for spotting that they are low

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about Dawn's unique approach to therapy, including how the sessions actually work and how a client can measure success and progress.

We also begin to talk abut addictions, OCD, and patterns and habits. This is continued in our next podcast episode.

And of course, it wouldn't be complete without meandering into other subjects - in this case A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and Chat GPT (Jess's new best friend)

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist talk about spoon theory. What is it and does it apply to dogs?

What does being anxious really mean? Maybe we should talk about "not feeling safe" rather than feeling anxious.

As usual, we meander through a whole bunch of topics which means I can't remember what we talked about!

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist celebrate a year of doing podcasts by talking about a whole heap of random stuff (dog and human stuff obviously!)

This episode includes:

• A discussion about writing and how to be a good writer
• How we should refer to it as "not feeling safe" rather than labelling a dog (or a human) as anxious
• Scalable Comparative Experiences
• Adopting a more positive outlook

Lots more discussion on Fixed Actions including

• All behaviour serves a purpose
• Dopamine
• Car Chasing
• Bond with owners

We also talk about some of the new and shiny things we have upcoming...

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by Angela Jeen who is a practitioner of zoopharmacognosy - the science of animal self-medication derived from the roots zoo (“animal”), pharma (“drug”), and gnosy (“knowing”).

We explore how animals seem to know what nutrients they need, and how we need to give them choices rather than choose for them. We also talk about how humans don't seem to know what nutrients they need (unless they are pregnant!). Lots of chat around horses and dogs, and a little bit around humans.

🎉 With this episode we celebrate 1 year since our first Therapy Tails podcast Episode 🎉

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist reminisce about a year of working together and the achievement of completing nearly 1 podcast a week! Woop Woop! 

We go on to discuss our current topic of interest - Instinctive (Fixed Action patterns) versus learned behaviour and how that actually works in the brain. Dawn has been listening to Robert Sapolsky, author of Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, as he delivers lectures to Stanford University students so we have lots of new ideas to discuss. 

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss the difference between changing behaviour in a dog (constant repetition of the more desirable behaviour) and changing behaviour in a person (rewiring the brain through conversation). I think we answer the cliffhanger from the last podcast where we talk about the concept of changing behaviour with no backsies!

We talk about feeling hopeless when you want to help everyone, and how to outwit your circumstances so that you can deal with feeling overwhelmed more effectively

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss pathways and brain rewiring again - it's a favourite subject of ours. We talk about the different approaches to dog trainining - positive only, force free, balanced, and if one size can fit all. 

We talk about pattern interrupts and how the same process works in dogs and humans. First interrupt the pathway (existing behaviour) and then create a different pathway (new behaviour). We can use tapping for this in humans and Dawn explains how. We can use haptics like and ecollar to do this with dogs. 

This leads to the inevitable conversation about punishment vs praise. 

Finally we talk about "one session" interventions for dogs and humans. Can they really work? 

Warning - we leave you with a cliffhanger at the end and you'll have to listn to the next episode to learn more. 

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discus lots of dog stuff. In fact if you don't have a dog and are not interested in dogs, you may want to skip this one!

Jess has a good old whinge about German Shepherds

We discuss Dawn's theory on why you need to be a shiny thing, and how to go about it

Why can it be a problem for dogs to be on lead, when they are fine off it?

And finally... How to choose a trainer ( also applies to therapist!!

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

 Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist discuss empathy and language. This is really good one for anyone who has to communicate with another human (who doesn't?)!  

We talk about the power of language and and how it can be used for good (to help people change) or badly (manipulation)

What is empathy? Where does it come from and what is its purpose? Do dogs have empathy? Should they? 

(please note these episodes are recorded chats in Starbucks so may have more background noise than a usual podcast)

Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by returning guest Professor Trevor Harley (and his dog Beau).

We start off talking about what makes use human and Trevor shares his theory that our brains are just perception machines. From there we explore the brain works, often comparing to dog brains (as is usual!). Everything comes down to connection, whether connections in the white matter in our brains, or social connections that have been shown to slow aging. 

We end up talking about meta-awareness. 

*These podcasts are a recorded conversation in Starbucks so the sound quality may not be as good as you are used to in a podcast"

In this episode Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by Derek Mawhinney, who works in property development. But he's not with us to talk about property! We talk about the mind, spirituality, overcoming your past trauma and the use of psychedelics to reach higher consciousness. 

We love a good conversation about consciousness and purpose and Derek brings a new way of looking at things to our discussion. 

Not that I think you would listen to these podcasts with kids, but if you do, please be aware that this podcast contains swearing. 

In this episode, Dawn Walton, a human therapist, and Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist are joined by Michelle Getty, a dog trainer. 

We talk about the discussions that happen around ecollars (contact collars) and the different ways people react. Jess gets herself thrown out of an ecollar group - and explains why. We talk about kids versus dogs and how praise works way better than fear,  but this time in the context of what we viable options we have instead. 

Jess is very tired, and Jess and Michelle have both been bitten by dogs this week so apologies if it's a little more fluffy and random than your usual podcasts!

In this episode Dawn Walton, a human therapist, Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist, and Gemma Kirk, who is used to working with young people in care, talk about hypervigilance in dogs and humans. We discuss the difference between hypervigilance and other states such as anxiety and anger. As we talk we end up comparing care homes and young offender institutes to kennels - there are disturbing similarites!

We discuss the physiology of stress.

And we talk about what resilience really is - it might not be what you think. 

The internet has made information so readily available that few people look beyond the information presented. They think more about the What and less about the Why. 

So you could look up how to lead train your dog and find a bunch of steps to follow. All good if it works. But if it doesn't, you need to look at WHY you took those steps so you can adapt. You need to understand about motivating your dog to look at you and follow your instructions; how to use treats and praise to encourage behaviour. The What tells you what to do with the lead and how to respond when your dog pulls. The Why tells you that you first need motivation for your dog to listen to you. 

Did you realise that a growl, unchecked, may often lead to a bite? We discuss why, particularly focussing on Christmas - a tricky time of year for dog trainers as dog bites increase significantly

This leads on to a bigger problem. Do we know how to discuss and debate information any more? Can we question and be curious? Are we all looking for a quick fix / magic wand?

Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist, and Dawn Walton, a human therapist, also talk about the difference between academic knowledge vs online qualifications vs practical experience and look into the sinister side of shiny marketing.

Do dogs have situations where they have a choice? Should they?

In this conversation between Dawn Walton (human therapist) and Jess Probst (Dog behaviourist) we once more find ourselves comparing dogs to young children, particularly when it comes to choices and the consequences of having no choice. We talk about how risky Christmas can be to dogs and what you can do to mitigate the risks. 

We also have a foray into the world of willpower and Dawn explains how willpower works in your brain. 

Oh and Jess has a new toy - an Apple watch - and she keeps on getting distracted by it!

Jess Probst, a dog behaviourist, and Dawn Walton, a human therapist, discuss the use of ecollars in training dogs. We explain how praise is more effective than punishment in dogs and children, and how to use an ecollar as a postive reinforcement. We also discuss the difference they can make to lives of people with deaf dogs, disabled people who can't hold a lead, and people with anxiety who can't walk their dog in public for fear of its behaviour. How do we use them as a tool to improve the welfare of the dog and the mental state of the human owner. 

In this episode Dawn and Jess explore the subconscious, the cognitive conscious brain, and the possibility of something in between the two - the autopilot brain. Dawn delves into fears and where they come from, and how the brain can be reprogrammed to free us up. We also discuss the idea of an ever observant part of the brain that Dawn calls the Observer or Narrator. Lots of therapy stuff and a little bit of dog stuff!

Is it possible to talk about Serial Killers and dating in a podcast and find common ground? Listen and you will find out! Who has more emotional detachment - Dawn or Jess?

Jess Probst and Dawn Walton still comparing dog and human psychology. 

What makes a good escape room experience

Best ways to organise early dates  

Imposter syndrome  Is dog ownership a skill

Thinkfulness   - a tools for not believing your inner voice  

Are our dogs a projection of us?

Expectation v reality   

Do we think all our dogs are Hollywood dogs?

Importance of sleep for dogs and humans

We can’t see change

Is being part of a pack more important than being top of the pack?

Punishment 

Predicting the future 

Experience based learning 

Memory reference 

Caveman survival 

Innate learning 

Function for survival 

Pyjama day 

Aversives interactions 

consistency in training 

Addiction, 

Ocd behaviour, 

boredom v purpose 

Loneliness 

Communication needs, creating rapport Interview skills

We're in a new venue!

Owners and dogs  

Instant gratification (present) 

Bowling pin analogy

 Prison regime

 Warning lights

  “It’s good enough” 

 Residential training and environmental factors

 Respect for human

  Dog choice

  Ecollar explained by Dawn

  Command and control /pet dog

   The psychology of Dogs and muzzles

  Refused vet visits 

  Ideas for new owners - how to crate

 Dogs v cats and zombies

In this episode Dawn Walton and Jess Probst are out to lunch, so not in the usual Starbucks! A fire alarm goes off in the middle of the podcast and disrupts it, and Jess thinks that I need the microphone closer so now I'm too loud! 

Anyway we talk about the challenges of being self employed, being in a caring profession and the emotional toll it takes. 

We discuss the psychology of people around their dogs and explore strategies for how we can be better at helping

As well as labelling a dogs aggressive behaviour as being pain driven, people are now even calling their dogs Autistic. Jess and I discuss why we need to find a reason for behaviour rather than just taking ownership of the role we play. Why can't someone see their dog as an animal until it does something very primitive like biting or chasing and lunging?

We also discuss the role of genetics in aggression after Jess ended up with two dogs who did the same extreme aggressive behaviour, only to later discover they had the same father. 

Jess has a theory that trust is an important factor in our relationship with our dogs. So in this episode we explore what trust really means to both humans and dogs. 

Jess the Impaler   If you have a dog you may want to rethink listening to this we delve into the military SuperDog Biosensor program and learn about how to create resilience and longevity and of course compare dogs to humans and some other stuff including a Romanian curse that turned out to be passed down in the blood (or did it?)

In this episode Jess and Dawn talk about trauma in dogs and humans after Jess has been somewhat challenged by an online course on dogs in trauma (read that as it's being doing her head in!)

We talked about humans projecting their emotions onto dogs and question whether it is possible for people like you and I (but not Jess) to see dogs as animals rather than little people.