What does it really mean to understand a dog?

In this conversation, Dr Marc Bekoff explores how dogs experience the world and what helps them thrive emotionally, socially, and psychologically.

Marc Bekoff is Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the world’s leading voices on animal emotions. He is a long time collaborator and close friend of the late Dr Jane Goodall through the Jane Goodall Institute. His research has helped expand scientific understanding of animal sentience, emotion, and social intelligence.

In this episode, Marc explains why every dog is an individual shaped by personality, history, and context. He shares why choice, safety, and trust sit at the centre of healthy relationships and how dogs communicate continuously through movement, scent, posture, and behaviour.

We discuss what it means to become fluent in dog. How learning their language deepens connection. How agency supports emotional wellbeing. And why observing dogs in natural social settings reveals behaviours that cannot be seen in isolation.

Marc also reflects on his decades of fieldwork with dogs, wolves, coyotes, and other social mammals, and on the influence of Jane Goodall’s approach to observation, patience, and respect.

This episode explores:

→ How dogs express emotion and social intelligence→ Why individual personality matters more than labels→ What agency looks like in everyday life→ How dogs communicate through scent, movement, and choice→ The role of trust in learning and connection→ What long term observation reveals about behaviour→ The legacy of Jane Goodall’s work and its relevance today

This is a conversation about attention, curiosity, and relationship. About learning to see the dog in front of you.

And about how understanding another being can quietly change the way we live alongside them.

In this episode of Just A Dog Podcast, I speak with Ádám Miklósi, Professor of Ethology and one of the most influential researchers in dog behaviour and cognition.

Professor Miklósi is the founder of the Family Dog Project in Hungary and has spent decades studying how dogs think, learn, and form relationships with humans.

His work has shaped much of what we now understand about dog human attachment, social behaviour, and the role of environment in behavioural development.

In our conversation, we explore how dogs are shaped by biology, environment, and the human relationships they live within. We discuss why dog behaviour must be understood in context, why dogs do not exist in isolation, and how human expectations and living conditions influence behaviour.

We also talk about individuality, attachment, and what scientific research can realistically tell us about the inner lives of dogs.

G Dogs research project

Professor Miklósi’s team runs the G Dogs project, a long term scientific study of dogs who can recognise the names of objects and reliably retrieve specific items when asked.

Dogs of any age may be eligible if they already know between 5 and 8 object names. Participation is remote, with full guidance provided.

For more information or to enquire about taking part, contact:
miklosi.adam@ttk.elte.hu

What does it actually take to change a law that harms dogs?

In this episode of Just A Dog Podcast, I speak with Dr Marc Abraham OBE, the veterinary surgeon and campaigner behind Lucy’s Law, which banned the third party sale of puppies and kittens in England.

Marc shares the moment that shifted him from treating individual dogs to challenging the system itself, how grassroots campaigning really works, and why patience, strategy, and kindness matter more than outrage alone.

We talk about puppy farming, ethical breeding, rescue, political lobbying, celebrity influence, and what ordinary people can do when they feel powerless in the face of injustice.

Marc is the author of several books, including Be More Mosquito, a practical guide to grassroots campaigning and creating change with limited resources.

He is also the presenter and co creator of the documentary Dogspiracy, which examines irresponsible breeding, puppy mills, and the systems that allow them to continue, while also highlighting how change can happen.

You can follow Marc and his work online
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