In this episode, Sandra interviews Nikki about her new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior.
In this episode, Sandra interviews Nikki about her new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior: Healing Chronic Stress and Creating Lasting Change.
Nikki shares what inspired her to write the book, why understanding the emotion and stress beneath a dog’s behavior matters, and how guardians can move beyond simply trying to “fix” what they see on the surface. They discuss chronic stress, the nervous system, behavior, enrichment, physical health, and the importance of creating safety, trust, and connection.
If you live with a dog struggling with fear, anxiety, reactivity, or chronic stress—or you simply want to better understand the dog in front of you—this conversation offers a compassionate look at what behavior may really be trying to communicate.
The Dog Beneath the Behavior is now available on Amazon!
Dogs are social animals, and healthy relationships with other dogs can play an important role in emotional development and regulation. In this episode, we explore the value of conspecific socialization—what dogs can learn from one another that humans simply cannot teach.
We’ll discuss how appropriate dog-to-dog interactions can support communication skills, confidence, resilience, play, and emotional balance, while also looking at the difference between meaningful social experiences and simply putting dogs together. Not every dog needs a crowd, but access to safe, compatible canine relationships may be an important piece of helping dogs feel more secure and socially fulfilled.
Get Nikki's new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior, on Amazon!
Our dogs look to us for more than food, shelter, and guidance. They also rely on us for a sense of safety, comfort, and connection. But what happens when our own stress, frustration, or anxiety begins to influence how they experience the world?
In this episode, Nikki explores the power of co-regulation and how our emotional state can influence our dogs' ability to navigate life's challenges. We'll discuss why your presence matters, how dogs respond to our emotions, and why creating a sense of safety begins with understanding and regulating ourselves.
You'll learn how small, intentional changes in your daily interactions can help your dog feel more secure, build trust, and develop greater emotional resilience. Because helping your dog through difficult moments isn't always about teaching a new behavior. Sometimes, it's about slowing down, offering support, and simply being the safe place they need.
When we learn to find our own calm, we create opportunities for our dogs to find theirs.
Buy The Dog Beneath the Behavior on Amazon
In this Canine Couch Convo, we’re talking about the dogs we know and love best—our own. We share some of our favorite things about each of our dogs, the traits that make them uniquely who they are, and what those relationships have taught us along the way.
We also talk about Britt’s dad’s dog, who has had very little formal training yet is incredibly responsive to him. Why? Because responsiveness isn’t always built through obedience. Sometimes it comes from trust, connection, clear communication, and having a dog’s genetic needs understood and fulfilled.
This conversation is a reminder that a strong relationship with your dog isn’t about controlling every behavior. It’s about knowing who they are, meeting their needs, and building the kind of connection that makes them want to stay engaged with you.
Get Nikki's new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior, on Amazon.
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Teaching your dog to drop something doesn’t have to turn into a chase or a battle over who gets to keep the item. In this episode, we’re talking about how to teach a reliable “drop it” cue through cooperation, trust, and clear communication.
We’ll look at why dogs hold onto objects in the first place, how grabbing things away can create conflict or even contribute to resource guarding, and why trading can be such a powerful teaching tool. You’ll also learn how to practice this skill before you actually need it, so your dog is more likely to respond when they pick up something unsafe or inappropriate.
The goal isn’t to make your dog surrender everything they value. It’s to teach them that letting go is safe, worthwhile, and part of a conversation they understand.
Too often, we depend on the leash to communicate with our dogs—pulling them closer, steering them away, stopping forward movement, or physically managing every decision they make. But a leash should be a safety tool, not the primary way we communicate.
In this episode, we’re talking about what it really means to walk well together in public. That includes teaching clear verbal cues, creating predictable expectations, helping your dog understand how to move through different environments, and building communication that doesn’t depend on constant leash pressure. Because good public walking isn’t just about a loose leash—it’s about developing a dog who understands what you’re asking and a guardian who knows how to communicate it.
Buy Nikki's new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior here.
Dog sports can be an incredible way to provide enrichment, build confidence, strengthen your relationship, and give your dog an outlet for natural behaviors—but they don’t have to be about ribbons, titles, or being the best.
In this episode, we explore dog sports from a different perspective: choosing activities based on who your dog is, what they enjoy, and what they were naturally built to do. From scent work and agility to dock diving, herding, and more, we’ll talk about how dog sports can support physical and emotional well-being without turning another activity into a source of pressure.
Because sometimes the goal isn’t to compete. It’s simply to let your dog have fun.
What if the behavior you’re struggling with isn’t actually the problem?
In this special episode, Nikki introduces her new book, The Dog Beneath the Behavior, and explores the idea at the heart of it: behavior is communication, and lasting change begins when we stop asking only how to change what a dog is doing and start asking why they’re doing it.
This episode gives you a glimpse into the science, stories, and practical approach behind The Dog Beneath the Behavior—without giving away everything inside.
Because when we stop focusing solely on the behavior in front of us, we finally have the opportunity to understand the dog beneath it.
Nikki talks with icon, Patricia McConnell about her new novel, Away to Me, her first venture into fiction writing, ADHD in dogs, and the importance of the human part of the human-dog relationship.
Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB is an internationally renowned animal behaviorist and author whose acclaimed books, including The Other End of the Leash, For the Love of a Dog, and The Education of Will, have sold more than 1.2 million copies. She saw clients whose dogs had serious behavioral problems for twenty-five years, and spoke around the world about canine training and behavior. A former adjunct professor in Zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her nationally syndicated radio show, Calling All Pets, played in more than 110 cities for 14 years and her television show, Petline, aired on Animal Planet for two and a half years.
Her debut novel, Away to Me, is her first venture into fiction, and has received rave reviews. She lives with her husband, Jim Billings, her Border Collies Skip and Maggie, and a spoiled flock of sheep on a farm in Southern Wisconsin, and can be found online at PatriciaMcConnell.com.
In this episode, Nikki touches on the neuroscience of making choices and how your dog's decision-making process isn't what you think.
Genetics, learning history, nervous system, memory and so much more goes into every "decision."