Episode 208 – Companion Animal Mind-Traps

The book by Jeff Wise I refer to in this podcast is Extreme Fear: The Science of the Mind in Danger. 

And another mind trap he mentions of relevance to companion animal owners that came to mind after I recorded this is situational blindness. We’ve all heard stories of people so intent on following their GPSs that they have no idea that the little voice and animated map is leading them down some road they never would have taken had they been paying attention to where they were actually driving.  In the animal world, a similar phenomenon may occur when we become so caught up in some behavioral or physical health technology or process that we lose sight of whether it represents the best route for us and our animals to follow. Like the other mind-traps discussed in this podcast, we can avoid falling into this one by thinking before we act.