Join these three authors to learn more about dogs (and these amazing books) at Bark! Fest, the book festival for animal lovers.
By Zazie Todd PhD
Caring for Dogs: Pilley Bianchi, Wendy Lyons Sunshine, Carri Westgarth PhD
Develop a better bond with your dog with these 3 canine authors. For the Love of Dog is Pilley Bianchi’s love letter to our canine friends, sharing wisdom from her father John W. Pilley’s work with Chaser the border collie and illustrated by NYTimes illustrator Calum Heath. In Tender Paws, Wendy Lyons Sunshine examines what dog guardians can learn from the science of human parenting. And Carri Westgarth draws on her research into human-animal interaction to help you improve your pet’s wellbeing and become The Happy Dog Owner.
Thursday 12th September 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm UK time.
Register here.
The event is hosted by Zazie Todd and Kristi Benson.
A recording will be available to all those who register. It will be sent out 72 hours after the live event ends.
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Attendees at the live event will have the chance to win a copy of For the Love of Dog by Pilley Bianchi, Tender Paws by Wendy Lyons Sunshine, The Happy Dog Owner by Carri Westgarth PhD and Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Zazie Todd PhD.
About the books
For the Love of Dog: The Ultimate Relationship Guide—Observations, Lessons, and Wisdom to Better Understand Our Canine Companions by Pilley Bianchi, illustrated by Calum Heath, published by Princeton Architectural Press.
A visual celebration and exploration of the connection between dogs and humans.
Pilley Bianchi pens a love letter to dogs and dog ownership through observations, lessons, and wisdom gained from her family dog Chaser, the popular subject of her father John W. Pilley’s New York Times best-selling book Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words. Chaser was dubbed “the smartest dog in the world” before crossing the rainbow bridge in 2019. New Yorker and New York Times illustrator Calum Heath’s charming black-and-white illustrations throughout add a unique graphic style to this gifty package, making it an irresistible volume for anyone devoted to dogs.
For the Love of Dog takes the reader on a journey of all things dog, with chapters that cover the history of dogs and how breeds developed from wolves, dog philosophy (i.e., What if we were to look at each other as if through the eyes of a dog, with the same capacity for enthusiasm and appreciation of others?), tips and tricks for good dog behavior compliments of Chaser, how dogs elevated to their current status as human’s best friend, and much more.
Filled with practical advice and insightful knowledge, this lively illustrated volume teaches us how to better understand our dogs and forge a deeper bond with them.
Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs by Wendy Lyons Sunshine, published by Health Communications Inc.
Tender Paws takes a deep dive into the practical benefits of applying therapeutic parenting best practices to dogs in our care.
When Wendy Lyons Sunshine got her first puppy—abandoned behind a gas station, struggling with worms and anemia—she was in over her head. As puppy training guides failed to help her with the out-of-control, traumatized bundle of teeth and claws rescue pup, she turned to her work helping world-class child development experts. Could strategies for raising happy, well-adjusted kids transfer to a puppy?
As it turns out, yes, they can! From the first try, parenting wisdom transformed Sunshine’s relationship with her challenging little one. Soon enough, Sunshine’s view of her puppy shifted from one of adversity to one of compassion and understanding, and she was able to bring patience and therapeutic concepts to meet her dog’s needs. When Sunshine reached out to experts, they affirmed that science-based principles used with at-risk children align well with best practices of holistic, positive, and progressive dog handling. Exploring parallels between human and canine research, attachment styles, history of trauma, parenting styles, and her own “inner child” proved a mindful path for pet parenting.
Far from a standard dog training manual, Tender Paws explicitly applies parenting wisdom and best practices used with special needs kids to a cross-section of scenarios, from recognizing developmental trauma and unmet core needs, to making decisions about appropriate equipment, to responding to difficult behavior, to understanding the parenting style from which we approach our dogs.
Sunshine empowers you and your dog by offering:
- A synthesis of the fields of child development, attachment, trauma, sensory integration, neurobiology, learning, animal behavior, and ethology.
- A problem-solving framework that makes dog training decisions clearer and behavior frustrations easier to resolve.
- Parenting wisdom to help your dog move beyond trauma and into wellness.
Borrowing the principles of parenting for dogs feels obvious to some people: instinctive and ordinary and inevitable. But that’s not true for everyone, especially those of us who had a less than ideal childhood and bear the scars of early harm, loss, trauma, or deprivation. Tender Paws provides an interdisciplinary, comprehensive, evidence-based guide for readers who want to honor the needs of—and improve outcomes for—puppies and dogs they care about.
The Happy Dog Owner: Finding Health and Happiness with the Help of Your Dog by Carri Westgarth PhD, published by Welbeck Publishing.
What if your dog could teach you a few new tricks for living a happier, healthier life?
Drawing on her many years of research on human-animal interaction, Dr Carri Westgarth will help you to gain a new understanding of your dog’s needs and how to be the best owner you can be. Learn to harness the power of your special bond with your pet and train your dog to be a canine alarm clock, cuddle on command and get you out and about more than ever before.
Improve your pet’s wellbeing with a wealth of science-led techniques and easy-to-learn tips – because a contented, well-behaved dog leads to a relaxed, healthy owner.
You really can train your dog to train YOU to live a better life.
About the authors
About Pilley Bianchi
About Wendy Lyons Sunshine
Wendy Lyons Sunshine is an award-winning writer and journalist who co-authored The Connected Child: Bring hope and healing to your adoptive family, a bestseller that has been translated into multiple languages, and Raising the Challenging Child: How to minimize meltdowns, reduce conflict, and increase cooperation. She blogs about the human-dog bond for PsychologyToday.com and is on the team at Positively.com. Wendy has trained in the L.E.G.S. applied ethology model of Family Dog Mediation and assisted at a local animal shelter. She and her husband live with a rescue dog on an overgrown acre where they all enjoy watching wildlife.
and how gentle, positive parenting can help us raise happy, well-adjusted dogs.
When Wendy Lyons Sunshine got her first puppy—a creature abandoned behind a gas station, struggling with worms and anemia—she was in over her head. Training guides failed to help with the out-of-control bundle of teeth and claws rescue pup, and in desperation she turned to her work helping world-class child development experts. Could strategies used with struggling, special needs, and at-risk children also help a puppy?
Yes, they can! From the first try, parenting wisdom transformed Sunshine’s relationship with her challenging little one and helped her bring compassion and therapeutic concepts to meet her dog’s needs. She reached out to experts who affirmed that science-based principles used with at-risk children align well with best practices of holistic, positive, and progressive dog handling.
Full of illustrative cases and thoughtful insights to inspire your own pet parenting journey, Tender Paws delves into attachment theory, the effects of trauma, parenting styles, and sensory issues; and offers strategies that meet the needs of dogs—often in surprisingly simple ways. Far from a standard training manual, Tender Paws reveals why love alone isn’t always enough and how evidence-informed parenting practices can help.
About Carri Westgarth PhD
Professor Carri Westgarth is Chair in Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Liverpool with a passion for understanding the relationships we have with our pets. With a background in animal behaviour and dog training she has trained in veterinary epidemiology and human public health. Her research interests focus on the implications of dog ownership for human health and wellbeing, but also how owner management of their dogs can impact dog welfare. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used to tackle her primary research questions of how to improve population health through the promotion of dog walking, and how to prevent dog bites. Her expertise on understanding and changing the behaviour of dog owners is sought by many organisations wishing to prevent dog bites and promote ‘responsible’ dog owner behaviour, such as her work as a consultant for Royal Mail. She is also a Full Member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and founder of the Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership. In her spare time Carri teaches dog training classes, and previously was a professional Assistance Dog Instructor. Her practical experience in many areas relating to dogs, combined with a multi-disciplinary academic perspective, gives unique strength and relevance to her expertise.