Today's Topic:   For many of us, we're keenly aware of how the parenting style of our own parents (whether it was an authoritarian, authoritative, permissive or uninvolved style) influenced -- and continues to influence -- how we behave and view the world as an adult.

As such, we've ALWAYS wondered how our individual pet parenting style (whether we're aware of it or not) toward our dogs influences their behavior and how they view the world.

In Part I of our discussion on pet parenting styles, we dove into this subject headfirst with pediatric psychologist, parent coach, and the owner of A New Day Pediatric Psychology, PLLC., Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, to see if there are any insights we could glean from her understanding of the different types of child parenting styles, and their effects, but also where they came from.

What we came away with from that episode was a sense that many of us view our children very similarly to how we view our dogs, and how the modern parenting literature is eerily mirrors that of modern positive dog training literature.

In this episode, we got the opportunity to continue this conversation on pet parenting styles with one of the authors of the research paper, Does Pet Parenting Style Predict the Social and Problem-Solving Behavior of Pet Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)?, Dr. Monique Udell, to see what the data says when she investigated the effects of different pet parenting styles on a dog's social and problem-solving behavior using three behavioral tests: The Secure Base Test, a Sociability Test and the Solvable Task.

Guest Bio: Dr. Monique Udell is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and an Associate Professor of Animal Sciences at Oregon State University, where she directs the Human-Animal Interaction Lab. Much of her work focuses on the development of human-animal bonds and the impact that these bonds can have on the behavior and success of both species. She also studies the social behavior and cognition of a variety of species including cats, dogs, wolves and sheep, with a special interest in the influence of domestication and lifetime experience on behavioral development, welfare and learning. In addition, Dr. Udell is the Co-director of an animal assisted intervention program dedicated to improving the quality of life of children with and without developmental disabilities and their family dogs and cats.

Connect With Dr. Monique Udell: 

• Website
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• Does Pet Parenting Style predict the social and problem-solving behavior of pet dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)?