In this blog post, I’m sharing chapter 2 from the second module of my course Resolving Challenging Behaviour. As you’ll see, in my courses I often incorporate previous students’ insightful comments and selected links to important work from colleagues across the industry.
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In this chapter, I discuss why some dog breeds are like fish out of water and the mismatch between modern society and animals’ innate behaviour.
Check out the video below (and click the cc-button at the top right for subtitles).
There’s debate about when dogs may have diverged from wolves – some suggest it was up to 100,000 years ago. Regardless of when it occurred, many breeds are still not well adapted to modern life with humans.
I was interviewed by Marilyn Mele on her summit What Reactive Dogs Really Need on the topic of play, and I thought I’d share it here on the blog!
Want subtitles? Just click the CC-button at the bottom right! Oh, and if you’re a French Speaker, Benjamin Trévisan kindly translated this discussion – find it here!
Marilyn Mele and Karolina Westlund on the Importance of Play
There’s an entire module devoted to the topic of play in my online course Animal Emotions, which opens for enrollment in January!
Here’s what we cover in the interview:
The Biological Power of Play: Play is fundamental, and can literally reconfigure and reprogram an animal’s brain.
The Science of Epigenetics: We discuss how play acts as a major modulator of gene expression.
Developing an Optimistic Mindset: We cover how play induces a strong positive emotional state that helps animals become more optimistic. An optimistic animal expects good things to happen and is more likely to be curious rather than fearful.
Building Resilience Through “Rough and Tumble”: I explain how social play teaches animals to handle slight discomfort (like being chased), learning that positive events follow such moments (like chasing the other); this helps build resilience.
Training for the Unexpected: We talk about how the unpredictable nature of play helps animals learn to deal with unexpected events without being overwhelmed.
Seven Practical Reasons to Use Play: I outline specific ways to use play as a tool for:
I was recently invited for an interview for Radio Tacoma’s series Ain’t Misbehaving with Dr Louisa Beal, a veterinarian with a special interest in behaviour.
In this discussion, we talk about:
how people interested in dogs might still learn something from someone who’s not a dog owner (though I cover this paradox in more detail here)
the difference between jealousy and resource guarding
… Is your dog afraid of fireworks? How about thunder?
Keep reading, this blog post contains everything you need to know.
… Is your dog *not* fearful of fireworks, thunder or other loud noise?
Keep reading anyway. That may change, and you should be prepared. What’s more, you can prevent it from ever becoming an issue.
This post is updated about twice a year, last on May 31st, 2026 – look for the “revised” signs in the post to find the latest changes.
It’s the combination of different techniques that produce the best effect (Crowell-Davis et al., 2003: 93%). Nobody’s tried using all the techniques suggested in this blog post, as far as I know.
Is the noise starting already? Jump straight to what to do now.
What follows below is a chapter from my full course Animal Emotions.
To be quite transparent, it’s one of the chapters that has the least practical application when it comes to caring for captive animals, but it is also, hands down, the one chapter in all my online courses that leaves students the most flabbergasted.
And given how the subject of gender identity has become politicized in the last few years, I thought that maybe sharing some very basic facts would be a way to contribute.
