Cog-Dog Radio

Sarah Stremming, The Cognitive Canine

Dog trainer, blogger, competitor.

  • 15 minutes 30 seconds
    REPLAY: Heal Them, Heal Us: Eat. Drink. Be Merry.
    Disordered eating is normalized in our society and it is normalized in our dogs, too. Dogs should want to eat. Their GI should function normally. These are not radical statements, and yet most dogs Sarah sees in her private behavior work have some kind of damaged relationship to food. Dig into why this happens and what we can do about it. Then eat, drink, and be merry yourself on this holiday. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    23 December 2025, 2:14 pm
  • 11 minutes 26 seconds
    Three Ways to Be in the World with Your Dog
    There are essentially three ways to be with a dog in the human world. You can regiment them either physically or mentally, or they can be free. They want to be free, but the situation, the dog’s skills, the dog’s mental stability, and the human’s skills all need to be taken into account. When should we choose physical regimentation over mental or vice versa? When can they actually be free, and what is true freedom? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    9 December 2025, 2:00 pm
  • 7 minutes 35 seconds
    Never Punish a Growl?
    Have you heard the rule “never punish a growl”? Dog training has come a long way since the yank and crank days, but some of the adages birthed from the changing tides, like “never punish a growl,” deserve a deeper look. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    2 December 2025, 1:54 pm
  • 17 minutes 22 seconds
    Mental Prisons
    In the episode about border collies Sarah referenced the concept of the “mental prison.” In this episode she elaborates on that thought, on what dogs get trapped in prisons of their own making, and on ways to help them escape. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    25 November 2025, 1:45 pm
  • 1 hour 17 minutes
    Herding Dog Brains with Dr Jessica Perry Hekman
    In this crossover episode with the Functional Breeding Podcast Sarah and friend of the pod Dr Hekman discuss a recent paper revealing some interesting differences between the brains of herding dogs and “normal” dogs, particularly Sarah’s beloved border collies. The paper is "Genomic evidence for behavioral adaptation of herding dogs." and you can find it here: https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.adp4591 Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    11 November 2025, 2:00 pm
  • 26 minutes
    Border Collies
    Border collies are special; they have a highly specialized mind and a supremely athletic body and both deserve care that matches the degree of their uniqueness. Whether you are thinking about adding a border collie to your life or already a border collie guardian, enjoy some food for thought regarding what it might mean to care for this exceptional breed of dog. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    4 November 2025, 1:59 pm
  • 9 minutes 30 seconds
    Robot Behavior Consultants
    Behavior pros, is AI coming for your job? Yeah, kind of. Let’s get real about what’s wrong with this, and what is within our control. https://www.bestlifedogservices.com/ Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    28 October 2025, 1:00 pm
  • 10 minutes 18 seconds
    Regulated Vigilance
    A skill you need to help your dog navigate tough environments is vigilance that doesn’t come with heightened emotions on your part. You’ve got to watch out for potential dangers and challenges while also staying cool about it all; and that’s legitimately hard to do! The good news is, you can learn how. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    21 October 2025, 1:00 pm
  • 19 minutes 12 seconds
    REPLAY: Upgrade Dogs
    Your first dog was fun, easy, and you had a lovely time in dog sports. But for your second you decided you wanted a faster model. You upgraded. Or, did you? Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    7 October 2025, 6:41 pm
  • 29 minutes 23 seconds
    REPLAY: Manage, Enrich, or Train?
    As behavior professionals we need to be proficient in the areas of environmental management, enrichment, and also dog training. But we are not a master of all three we might lean too heavily on one or two of them while forgoing the third, sometimes to the detriment of the case. Join Sarah in an exploration of each of these areas through the lens of practical examples. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    30 September 2025, 1:00 pm
  • 17 minutes 26 seconds
    Repair vs Rescue: When Food is and is Not Helpful
    Food is a good thing in dog training, right? Like most things, anything that has the power to do good also has the power to do harm, and food is no different. Avoiding use of food as a “rescue” and leaning into use of food as “repair” is one nuanced take on food within unexpected or scary encounters, and Sarah also dives into some basics on when food can and can’t be helpful. Sign up for courses and join the membership here: sarahstremming.com Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cogdogradio Music by AlexGrohl from Pixabay
    23 September 2025, 1:00 pm
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