Season 2: Episode #6: "Play Therapy" w/ Dr. Amy Cook
Today's Topic: When you're dealing with a fearful or anxious dog, it can sometimes feel like you've hit a wall, and the traditional tools that you're using are only getting you so far, resulting in a relationship with your dog that can feel belabored, frustrating, or just plain, UN-FUN. That's why we invited the founder and creator of "The Play Way", a new therapeutic approach for resolving behavior issues rooted in fear and anxiety through social interaction and dog empowerment, Dr. Amy Cook, to the pod, to discuss how playing with your dog can help you better assess whether your dog is at or near their threshold, where she sees the "The Play Way" living among the more traditional tools available to treat fearful and anxious dogs, how to start playing with your dog in an appropriate and safe way, the pitfalls of "monologuing", how this methodology fits into what she calls "positive dog training 2.0", and so much more!
Guest Bio: Dr. Amy Cook is an Applied Animal Behaviorist, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant with the IAABC, a longstanding professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), and was one of the first trainers nationally to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through independent evaluation.
Dr. Cook received her Ph.D. in Psychology from UC Berkeley, with her research focusing on the dog-human relationship and the impact that social support can have on stress. Dr. Cook is the founder and creator of the Play Way, a therapeutic approach for resolving behavior issues in dogs through social interaction and dog empowerment, and she is a popular instructor for the online school The Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, where she also teaches a course in active management games for dogs, and in a play-based approach to resolving sound sensitivity. She has been training dogs for over 30 years, and has specialized in the rehabilitation of shy and fearful dogs for over 20 years. Amy has worked for the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, the San Francisco Animal Care and Control, has provided behavioral evaluations for shelters and rescues throughout the Bay Area of California, and was a member of the anti-cruelty team for the ASPCA, working in triage sheltering and rehabilitation for large rescue cases. Amy gives seminars all over the country and is a frequent conference presenter. She also competes in sports with her dogs, and has titled in Competition Obedience, Rally, Agility, Barn Hunt, and Nosework.
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