The Invention of the Dog with Tamsin Pickeral Artwork

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

The show about how to have a better relationship with your dog or cat. Get tips on dog training, dog behaviour, cat behaviour and training, learn about the science on dogs and cats, and find out which books we're reading (animal-related and more generally). Kind, humane, reward-based training methods only. Hosted by Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC of Companion Animal Psychology blog. Made in Canada.

All Episodes

The Pawsitive Post in Conversation by Companion Animal Psychology

The Invention of the Dog with Tamsin Pickeral

September 15, 2026 • Zazie Todd PhD and Kristi Benson CTC • Episode 67

0:00 | 41:38

Leave us a voicemail!

Tamsin Pickeral's new book, The Invention of the Dog: 75 Breeds that Changed the World is a fascinating, touching, and beautifully illustrated account of where our beloved dogs come from. Tamsin joined Zazie and Kristi to chat about the book.

We talked about:

How the book came about, and what it was like selecting the artwork to be included in the book
Then we look at 3 very different breeds, starting with the history of the Shih Tzu
The history of the Bernese Mountain Dog
The history of the Yorkshire Terrier
How dog breeds became so different
Tamsin's favourite image from the book
Why dogs are so successful
The domestication of the dog
The depiction of dogs in art and how their appearance has changed over the years
And finally, we asked Tamsin to recommend a book to us

The Invention of the Dog: 75 Breeds that Changed the World is out now and available wherever books are sold.

The book that Tamsin recommended to us is Fairy Tale by Stephen King.

Tamsin Pickeral is an animal specialist and an art historian. She is an internationally published author who has written several acclaimed books on animal themes. Her new book, The Invention of the Dog, is just published and tells the true stories of some of our favourite dog breeds.

Learn more about Tamsin at https://tamsinpickeral.com/

Support the show

About the co-hosts:

Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist.

Kristi Benson's website Facebook

Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.

Instagram BlueSky