Just a Dog Podcast

Aggression is communication | What your dog's growl is saying | Michael Shikashio | AggressiveDog.com

A growl is one of the clearest things a dog can tell us, and it's often the most misread. Dog aggression specialist Michael Shikashio has spent 25 years working with dogs that other trainers couldn't help. His view is that aggression isn't a fault to correct. It's communication. It's a dog showing us that something is wrong. This conversation looks at where our beliefs about dog behaviour come from, and how often they come from people who were confident rather than informed. Michael explains why he believes you can't train aggression out of a dog, why pain is one of the most missed reasons behind it, and how the dominance and alpha ideas spread despite the evidence. Michael is the founder of AggressiveDog.com and a five-term president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants.

Why dogs react | Stress, trauma, and the canine brain | Daniel Shaw | Forensic Dog Behaviourist

When a dog reacts on the lead or struggles to settle at home, what we see is often the end of a biological process that started much earlier in the day. Daniel Shaw is a dog behaviourist with a master's in neuroscience. In this conversation, he explains what is happening in a dog's brain and body during a reaction, including how cortisol rises with each stressor, how the amygdala grows more sensitive under chronic stress, and the physical changes that trauma causes in the brain. Daniel also works as an expert witness in UK courts in serious dog-aggression cases, where his assessment can determine whether a dog goes home or is put to sleep. The conversation moves through the stress bucket, why secure fields can sometimes be better than a half-hour walk, why reading body language is a skill that takes time to develop, and the holes in the Dangerous Dogs Act that affect everyday guardians. Daniel runs a behaviour consultancy in Kent, founded the Brain and Behaviour Academy for dog professionals, hosts an annual UK conference, and gives evidence in courts deciding the fate of dogs across the country. Connect with Daniel Shaw ⁠Website⁠ [https://dogbehaviourspecialist.co.uk/] | ⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-shaw-41308b161/]⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/brainandbehaviouracademy/] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6CbScDkz0sBfUGUOa3F6rF?si=14b7f4c348b14eb4]

Behaviour is information | Why what we read as 'bad' behaviour is usually a dog in pain | Dr Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB

In this episode, we look at why dogs behave in ways that confuse or worry us. Dr. Lisa explains how pain, fear, and the way we treat dogs at home can show up as behaviour we'd otherwise call "bad". It's a conversation that asks you to look again at what your dog might be trying to tell you. Dr. Lisa Radosta is a board-certified veterinary behaviourist based in Florida. She's one of a small number of specialists worldwide trained both as a vet and as a behaviourist. With over 25 years of clinical experience, she's also the current president of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. If you have a dog who's anxious, reactive, or hard to live with, this conversation will give you a different way to look at what's going on. Dr. Radosta also breaks down when to call a trainer versus a behaviourist, and why it matters. And if you just want to understand your dog better, you'll come away with plenty to think about. Connect with Dr. Lisa Radosta Website [https://drlisaradosta.com/] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-radosta-dvm-dacvb-a88b625/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drlisaradosta/] | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/drlisaradosta/] | YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@drlisaradosta]

Cashmere from dogs | Turning discarded dog undercoat into luxury yarn | Sebastian Salvat, Chiora

Every spring, a double-coated dog sheds enough undercoat to knit a jumper. Most of it goes in the bin, or worse, on the garden fence for the birds, where flea treatment residue can kill hatchlings. Sebastian Salvat wants a better option. Sebastian is a fashion marketing student at London College of Fashion and the founder of Chiora, a project turning brushed-out dog undercoat into a cashmere-like yarn. He's been working in dog rescue since he was sixteen, lives with two rescues from Romania (Chai and Ora, who the brand is named after), and is backed by LCF's startup programme. The British Dog Wool Association was doing something similar for soldiers in hospitals over a hundred years ago. So the idea isn't new. The question is whether it should exist now. We get into the ethics of building a luxury material from a living animal, the economics that keep the model honest, and what Sebastian is doing differently this time around. If you live with a double-coated dog, pause before you throw the brush-outs away. Send your dog's brushed-out undercoat to Chiora info@chiora.org [info@chiora.org] | chiora.org

BONUS | If you love dogs, come to Brighton this May | Sally Muir

Sally Muir is one of the UK’s most prolific painters of dogs. Her books A Dog a Day, Old Dogs, and Rescue Dogs are published by Pavilion. Her work has been selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, including Elderly Dog (2018) and Hound (2019), and she won the Holburne Portrait Prize in 2012. She co-hosts The Dog Show in Brighton with Joanna Osborne, her business partner of over 40 years. They first met in 1979 through a shared interest in knitting machines, and went on to found Warm & Wonderful. Their black sheep jumper, worn by Princess Diana, was later sold by Sotheby’s in 2023 for $1.1 million, becoming the most valuable sweater on record. Alongside her studio work, Sally has spent the past decade visiting Galgos del Sol, a galgo and podenco rescue in Murcia founded by Tina Solera. During that time, she has painted murals across the kennels, education building, and puppy block, alongside her commissioned portrait work. If you love dogs and you love art, this is for you. The Dog Show is an exhibition of dog art, part of the Brighton Artists Open Houses. Open House Exhibition on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, and 25 May from 11 am to 5 pm Address: 33 Sillwood Road, Brighton, BN1 2LE Over 200 pieces of dog art from 15 artists, including returning and new exhibitors, across a range of mediums. Visit the official website for more information. [https://www.thedogshowbrighton.com/]