Here at Doggos, we don’t take the word dog-crazy lightly! Yes - we’ll greet your dog first before we greet you, and yes - we’d LOVE to bring our pup to your next birthday party if we could. But being dog-crazy isn’t just about greeting pups or taking them everywhere!
When we say we’re dog-crazy, we also mean we’re obsessed with learning everything about dogs too!
Whether we’re commuting to the office, setting up our next event, or even just heading off on a road trip, we’re constantly learning more about our pup kings and queens.
Want to learn more about positive reinforcement-based training? Need to know just how well a dog can smell? Want to know the latest and greatest in the dog cognitive science world?
Then be sure to queue up one of these 5 dog podcasts we love learning from!
Happy listening!
1. Off Leash (Limited Series)
Produced by Freakonomics Radio Network, dog-cognition expert and bestselling author Alexandra Horowitz (Inside of a Dog) takes us on a walk into the scruffy, curious, joyful world of dogs. What does it mean to “own” a dog? Can dogs demonstrate genuine heroism? And what is it like to experience reality primarily through smell? Off Leash is a delightful and surprising look at the deeply familiar, profoundly mysterious animals who walk alongside us.
Number of Episodes: 6 (ended)
Host: Alexandra Horowitz - a professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she teaches seminars in canine cognition, creative nonfiction writing, and audio storytelling. As Senior Research Fellow, she heads the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard
Focus: This limited 2022 series created by Freakonomics Radio takes us through a series of interviews with various people including but not limited to:
Detection-dog handler
Dog Cognition and Behaviour Scientists
Lawyers
Filmmakers
Best For: Learning and appreciating dog abilities, science-based explanations of how they interact and work with us in a multitude of unexpected jobs. Listeners who enjoy curated interviews with high-production quality podcasts we’ve come to expect from Freakonomics.
Why We Like This Series: This is a great, engaging, family-friendly podcast to learn more about general dog behaviour. While there aren’t any actionable dog training steps in this podcast, we love that every heartwarming and entertaining story has a scientifically-backed explanation too! The show notes are chock full of interesting links, papers, research studies, and people too.
2. Animal Training Academy
Professional animal trainer Ryan Cartlidge hosts this show featuring interviews with the world’s most proficient professionals in all things animal training and behaviour.
Number of Episodes: 180+ (ongoing)
Host: Since 2007, Ryan Cartlidge has been working as a professional animal trainer around the world. He has worked in many different zoos, across numerous countries and plenty of different species all around the world.
Focus: Interviews with renowned professionals that showcase the best practices, ethical positive reinforcement animal training and behaviour management. While this podcast does not focus solely on dogs, there are plenty of episodes that do and with 180+ episodes there’s plenty of content to dog training content to binge (from interviewing multiple positive reinforcement trainers, working with blind/deaf dogs, training advanced trick/dog actors, enrichment methods, etc.)
Best For: Geeking out on hardcore animal behaviour management, ethical positive reinforcement animal training.
Why We Like This Series: We love this series because there’s a little bit of something for everyone. With episodes on how to train guide dogs, working with blind or deaf animals, training puppies, seals, horses, and everything else in between - every episode focuses on professionals showcasing and recounting their experiences practising ethical animal training methods to success.
3. Drinking From the Toilet
A behind-the-scenes look into the reality of dog training, behaviour, and learning. We love our dogs, we love our jobs, but sometimes it’s not all unicorns and rainbows. Sometimes at the end of the day, you just need a drink and a friend who gets it.
With a heavy dose of humour and a side of empathy, we explore high-level behaviour science concepts mixed with real conversations and practical training advice. We keep it nerdy, relatable, and real.
Number of Episodes: 160+ (ongoing)
Host: Hannah Branigan is a competitive obedience trainer who enthusiastically deep dives into a variety of training topics that most other podcasts don’t. She also teaches dog trainers, people, and dogs both online and at live events. Everything is based on and backed by Applied Behavioural Science.
Focus: An authentic look into the realities of dog training, learning, and behaviour. Topics include an in-depth look into the topics of determining what constitutes positive and negative reinforcement, fear, and (un)conditioning compulsive behaviours.
Best For: Enthusiastic dog trainers looking for an equally enthusiastic dog training community. A great mix of instructional and conversational pieces in the podcast.
Why We Like This Series: We love this series because there’s not only a ton of in-depth content on how to train your dog but also comprehensive episodes that explain how our human behaviours can change our dog’s behaviour too.
4. Cog Dog Radio
A podcast for the dog people of the internet!
Number of Episodes: 240+ episodes
Host: Sarah Stremming, the founder of The Cognitive Canine, is a dog trainer, dog agility and obedience competitor, and dog behaviour consultant located in the Seattle area.
Focus: The Cog Dog Radio podcast focuses on cases and considerations
Best For Dog sport training owners - there’s a lot of content that focuses on what to do when sports dogs ‘fall apart’ in the ring, but there’s plenty of content for regular day-to-day training too.
Why We Like This Series:
Honestly, Sarah’s podcast description does NOT do the podcast any justice. This podcast contains a plethora of actionable, and progressive training methods that can be easily adapted into your own training strategies. Truly a hidden gem that deserves more recognition. Her episodes range from thought-provoking findings to semi-formal interviews and case studies.
5. Sexier Than a Squirrel
In Sexier Than a Squirrel, the Official AbsoluteDogs Podcast, veterinary behaviourist Tom Mitchell and international agility competitor and professional dog trainer Lauren Langman talk about training your dog, transforming your dog training struggles and getting real-life results through GAMES!
Number of Episodes: 150+ episodes
Focus: Teaching new games and remediating common dog training struggles in a case-by-case study
Best For: New dog owners looking to incorporate fun frustration-free games and methods to teach better behaviour and overall dog wellbeing.
Why We Like This Series:
Admittedly, this podcast has HUGE self-promotional vibes to their training academy program. But we do love the sheer abundance of creative games and techniques that are shared in the episodes - which makes slogging through their promotional bits worthwhile.
This podcast is great for new dog owners who want to learn how to move beyond the basic obedience training - but aren't quite ready for the intensely detailed dog training podcasts listed above.
Keep Learning on the Blog
...and there we have! Our top 5 favourite dog podcasts to learn with!
Not quite ready to tune into the podcasts yet but want to read more on the blog? Then be sure to check out some of our other equally informative blog posts too!
