What does it mean for a dog to live a “good life”? Can animals experience something like meaning or purpose? And what role do play, relationship, agency, and training have in helping animals flourish? In this episode, Dr. Kristina Spaulding talks with philosopher, dog trainer, and behavior consultant Dr. Katie Holman about philosophy, play, ethics, flourishing, and the deeply relational nature of life with dogs. Katie shares how her background in philosophy shaped the way she thinks about pla...

In this episode of the Research Bites Podcast, Dr. Kristina Spaulding talks with Dr. Lars Schwabe about what happens to learning and memory when the brain is under stress—and why those changes matter for behavior, training, and mental health. They begin by unpacking how memory works in the first place, walking through the stages of encoding, consolidation, and retrieval. From there, they explore the still-debated idea of reconsolidation—the possibility that when memories are retrieved, they m...

In this episode of the Research Bites Podcast, I’m joined by my first return guest, Patricia McConnell — Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, beloved author, and former professor at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Many of you know her from The Other End of the Leash and For the Love of a Dog, books that shaped an entire generation of trainers. But today, we’re talking about something new. Her debut mystery novel, Away to Me, follows Maddie McGowan — an dog behaviorist living on a small Wisc...

Today’s episode is a little different from the usual format. What you’re hearing is an actual recording from a Research Bites Coffee Break—an informal, unscripted conversation where behavior professionals think out loud about research, ask questions, and explore ideas together. There’s no lecture and no tidy conclusions—just real discussion and curiosity in action. The topic for this Coffee Break was the distinction between wanting and liking, two concepts that are often treated as interchang...

This podcast was originally released in May 2022 as a shortened version. This is the full version of the original podcast. Your host: Kristina Spaulding, PhD, CAAB with Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior, LLC Today’s guest, Dr. Erica Feuerbacher, is an Associate Professor in Animal & Poultry Sciences at Virginia Tech and director of the Applied Animal Behavior & Welfare Lab, where she works with dogs and horses. She also coordinates the online Masters's program in Applied Ani...

In this episode of the Research Bites Podcast, Dr. Kristina Spaulding dives deep into two foundational—but often under-discussed—forms of non-associative learning: sensitization and habituation. Drawing on research and classic learning theory, she explains what these processes are, how they differ, why they matter, and how they show up every day in companion animals. Dr. Spaulding connects the research to practical strategies you can use right away. From monitoring behavior and ad...

One of the most common questions Dr. Kristina Spaulding hears is whether stress “stays in the system” for three days. In this episode, she digs into what that really means, what the research shows, and why the truth is more complex than a simple yes or no. She begins with the biology of the stress response—how the HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system work together, the roles of cortisol and corticosterone, and why not all stress is bad. Then she takes on the central question: how long does...

In this episode of the Research Bites Podcast, Dr. Kristina Spaulding talks with Dr. (Jessica) Perry Hekman, DVM, PhD — behavioral geneticist and co-founder of the Functional Dog Collaborative — about what genetics can (and can’t) tell us about dog behavior. Dr. Hekman shares her journey from veterinary practice to genetics research and helps unpack key concepts like heritability, epigenetics, and behavioral phenotypes. Together, they explore what the science really says about breed and behav...

This podcast was originally released in April 2022 as a shortened version. This is the full version of the original podcast. Dr. Ádám Miklósi is a full professor and the leader of the Department of Ethology at the Eötvös University in Budapest (Hungary). He is also the co-founder and leader of the Family Dog Project ( http://familydogproject.elte.hu ) which studies human-dog interaction from an ethological perspective. In recent years he has also become interested in the automatization of mea...

In this thought-provoking episode of the Research Bites Podcast, Dr. Kristina Spaulding is joined by Dr. Mike Mendl, professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at the University of Bristol’s Veterinary School, for a deep dive into what it truly means to support positive animal welfare. From competence and resilience to cognitive bias and decision-making, Dr. Mendl explores how animals perceive and interact with the world—and why individual differences matter so much. You’ll hear how animal-base...