The Posts of the Year 2016
The most popular posts from Companion Animal Psychology in 2016.
Looking back, I'm surprised by how much I wrote this year. During 2016 I published 58 blog posts, including 28 reviews of individual research papers on dogs, cats, ferrets, and the human-animal bond. I feel very lucky to have interviewed both Dr. Sarah Ellis and Jean Donaldson, and thank them both for such interesting and inspiring interviews. I published the first guest post, an important piece by James Oxley and Clare Ellis about how rabbits are missing out on basic pet care practices.
I really enjoyed hosting the Train for Rewards Blog Party, which was a huge lot of fun (look out for it again in 2017!). Thank you to everyone who participated, whether by writing a post or sharing your favourites. I also kept my list of dog training research resources up to date, and there you will find a list of research articles on dog training and places where you can read about those articles for free.
This year saw the start of the Companion Animal Psychology Book Club, and I am thrilled to have the chance to talk about books with like-minded people. The first books were The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat
by John Bradshaw and Sarah Ellis, and The Secret History of Kindness: Learning from How Dogs Learn
by Melissa Holbrook Pierson.
These were the most popular posts of the year:
1. Losing a pet can lead to different types of grief.
2. Enrichment tips for cats (that many people miss)
3. Seven reasons to use reward-based dog training.
4. Clicker training vs treat: Equally good in dog training.
5. Dog bite strength: It's not what you think.
6. Testing an automated and humane way to resolve barking.
7. In dog training, balance is off.
8. Why science matters to our dogs and cats.
9. Less stress at the vet for dogs and cats.
10. Why do people choose certain dogs?
Honourable mention: Although it looks like posts about cats haven't done very well this year, there's an older post that's consistently had readers all through the year: Where do cats like to be stroked?
Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement throughout the year. One of the best things about my blog is the way it has helped me get to know so many wonderful people.
What would you like to see on Companion Animal Psychology in 2017? Please feel free to send me an email at companimalpsych at gmail dot com with your ideas (subscribers can just hit the reply button - if you're not yet a subscriber, why not sign up?). I do my best to follow up these suggestions, and there are a couple of reader-inspired posts in the works at the moment.
And if you would like to propose a post, my guest post guidelines are here.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2017!
Photo credit: Olga_i (Shutterstock.com). For other photo credits, follow the links.
Looking back, I'm surprised by how much I wrote this year. During 2016 I published 58 blog posts, including 28 reviews of individual research papers on dogs, cats, ferrets, and the human-animal bond. I feel very lucky to have interviewed both Dr. Sarah Ellis and Jean Donaldson, and thank them both for such interesting and inspiring interviews. I published the first guest post, an important piece by James Oxley and Clare Ellis about how rabbits are missing out on basic pet care practices.
I really enjoyed hosting the Train for Rewards Blog Party, which was a huge lot of fun (look out for it again in 2017!). Thank you to everyone who participated, whether by writing a post or sharing your favourites. I also kept my list of dog training research resources up to date, and there you will find a list of research articles on dog training and places where you can read about those articles for free.
This year saw the start of the Companion Animal Psychology Book Club, and I am thrilled to have the chance to talk about books with like-minded people. The first books were The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide to Making Life Happier for You and Your Cat
by John Bradshaw and Sarah Ellis, and The Secret History of Kindness: Learning from How Dogs Learn
by Melissa Holbrook Pierson.These were the most popular posts of the year:
1. Losing a pet can lead to different types of grief.
2. Enrichment tips for cats (that many people miss)
3. Seven reasons to use reward-based dog training.
4. Clicker training vs treat: Equally good in dog training.
5. Dog bite strength: It's not what you think.
6. Testing an automated and humane way to resolve barking.
7. In dog training, balance is off.
8. Why science matters to our dogs and cats.
9. Less stress at the vet for dogs and cats.
10. Why do people choose certain dogs?
Honourable mention: Although it looks like posts about cats haven't done very well this year, there's an older post that's consistently had readers all through the year: Where do cats like to be stroked?
Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement throughout the year. One of the best things about my blog is the way it has helped me get to know so many wonderful people.
What would you like to see on Companion Animal Psychology in 2017? Please feel free to send me an email at companimalpsych at gmail dot com with your ideas (subscribers can just hit the reply button - if you're not yet a subscriber, why not sign up?). I do my best to follow up these suggestions, and there are a couple of reader-inspired posts in the works at the moment.
And if you would like to propose a post, my guest post guidelines are here.
Wishing you a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2017!
Photo credit: Olga_i (Shutterstock.com). For other photo credits, follow the links.
