Dogs and Sprogs Podcast Featured in Cwmbran Life
We were absolutely delighted to see the Dogs and Sprogs podcast featured in the local press by Cwmbran Life.
The article highlights how two friends from Cwmbran came together to explore something that many people may not immediately connect: the similarities between understanding behaviour in children and understanding behaviour in dogs.
You can read the full article here:
How Dogs and Sprogs Started
The podcast began after Sarah, who works with children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, found herself struggling with her own reactive dog.
After reaching out to dog behaviour specialist Chrissy Blake from Muttley Crew Dog Training & Behaviour, the pair quickly realised that many of the principles behind understanding behaviour cross over between species.
As the article explains, conversations between the two often centred around psychology and behaviour.
What happens before behaviour occurs?
What environmental triggers may be involved?
What is the behaviour trying to communicate?
These are questions both educators and dog behaviour practitioners often ask.
Behaviour Is Communication
One of the key themes of the podcast is that behaviour rarely happens in isolation.
A child having a big reaction in a café or classroom may have experienced something earlier in the day that contributed to that response. Similarly, a dog that suddenly reacts to a person or object may have experienced multiple stressors beforehand.
Understanding those layers is often the difference between reacting to behaviour and understanding it.
Not Comparing Children and Dogs
One thing we are always very clear about is that children are not dogs and dogs are not children.
However, there are useful parallels in how we think about behaviour, emotional regulation, environment, and learning.
By exploring these connections, we hope to encourage conversations about:
behaviour science
child development
canine psychology
and how behaviour communicates need.