Latest Dogs Nature Podcast Episodes

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Episode 213: When "Helping" Hurts, Revisited (TEC Talk Throwback)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - May 16, 2024 09:00 - 55 minutes
And lo, the Internet Gods and Goddesses decreed "we shall ruin your recording, thereby preventing this week's uploading of training and behavior content!" But nay, your hosts shall not abide! While Chris and Ari scurry behind the scenes to figure out what the heck went wrong with this week's...

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Episode 212: Big Fun at Little Rock (with Hannah Baker, Sydney Byrd, LeeAnn Goette, and Kate Neal)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - May 09, 2024 09:00 - 45 minutes
The state motto of Arkansas is "Regnat populus" - Latin for "the people rule" - and you know what? The people here DO rule! Chris sits down with Hannah Baker, Sydney Byrd, LeeAnn Goette, and Kate Neal from Little Rock Zoo to talk about all the fun training going on during Chris' 10-day consultin...

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Episode 211: "Do Science Better": Leadership Growth Through the Lens of Accessibility (with Jennie Janssen)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - May 02, 2024 09:00 - 36 minutes
Ari and Chris welcome Jennie Janssen (National Aquarium, MIASZ) back to the show to share her take - and a great new initiative from MIAZS (Minorities in Aquarium and Zoos Sciences) - relating to the challenge our field is facing of creating the leaders of tomorrow.  References from the episod...

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Episode 210: Nuggets of Knowledge from Nashville (with Scott Trauger)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - April 25, 2024 09:00 - 38 minutes
Ari has The Ick, so Chris is joined by NEI Supervisor Scott Trauger to share our notes - figuratively and literally - from the 2024 ABMA Annual Conference in Nashville, TN!  If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know...

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Episode 209: She Wanted a Sticker, She Got on a Podcast (with Lauren Vieira)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - April 18, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour
With Chris in Nashville to listen to other people talk into a microphone at the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) Annual Conference, Ari keeps the show going with the help of future animal care professional Lauren Vieira! Lauren emailed us to say that she was a listener who would love a...

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Episode 208: Chopping Floors and Sweeping Fish (with Marty MacPhee)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - April 11, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour
Well, it took us over 200 episodes to get our act together and make it happen, but it was worth the wait because we're finally joined by our favorite "Queen of Team," Marty MacPhee! Marty shares her background as a member of the "NEI Extended Universe," her training and behavior background at Br...

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Episode 207: A New Model for Ambassador Animal Welfare (with Steve Martin)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - April 04, 2024 09:00 - 47 minutes
Ari and Chris welcome back NEI President and CEO, Steve Martin, back to the show to talk about his recently published journal aritcle, "A Reexamination of the Relationship between Training Practices and Welfare in the Management of Ambassador Animals"! Steve talks about how the article came abou...

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Episode 206: So...Are We Promoting Rob Parson Or Not???

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - March 28, 2024 09:00 - 34 minutes
Courtesy of the fine folks at the HBR on Leadership Podcast from Harvard Business Review, Chris brings a challenge for discussion to the table: what do you do when a top performer on your team that is up for promotion is also known for treating their collegues badly? We share the ins of outs of...

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Episode 205: Magical Moments Over Breadsticks (2024 Podcast Summit with Jon Rossi and Elizabeth Johnson)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - March 21, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour
Zoo podcasters of the world, unite again! Join Chris on his "exciting first date" with Jon Rossi of the Rossifari Podcast and Elizabeth Johnson of the Mothering Wildlife Podcast to discuss the ins and outs of our shows! With Jon as host and ringleader, we talk about why our shows got started, ho...

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Episode 204: Coaching for Coaches Who Coach Coaches

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - March 14, 2024 09:00 - 43 minutes
Ari has feedback on the brain - shout out to The Sea Stories Podcast (Apple Podcasts | Spotify) - so she sits down with Chris to talk about the ins of and out of how it applies to coaching people on how to coach others. We discuss the difference between coaching coaches you work with versus coac...

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Episode 203: We 'People' All Day Long (with Kaitlyn Bohnet and BJ Rice from North Sky Raptor Sanctuary)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - March 07, 2024 10:00 - 43 minutes
The TEC Talk Podcast is proud to welcome Kaitlyn Bohnet and BJ Rice from North Sky Raptor Sanctuary to the show! We chat with Kaitlyn and BJ about how they got involved with their current roles, their team's epic track suits that stole the show at the IAATE Icebreaker, why it's a strength to com...

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Episode 202: Fly-Offs and Shutdowns and Evals, Oh My!

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - February 29, 2024 10:00 - 35 minutes
Chris sits still while Ari flies down the road in order to talk about a wild week at That Theme Park show that started with an epic flyoff and rolled right into a new show experience AND a new staff evaluation process - just a Totally Normal Week Where Nothing Remarkable Happened. :-) If you h...

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Episode 201: They Understood the Assignment (Recap of the 2024 IAATE Annual Conference)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - February 23, 2024 01:29 - 32 minutes
Ari is back in Florida to regale Chris with tales from the 2024 IAATE Annual Conference in Eugene, Oregon! If you have a suggestion for a question, topic, or guest you'd like to hear on a future episode of the show, let us know at [email protected]! ------------------------------...

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Episode 200: Thanks For Nothing, Spain! (with the NEI Podcast-iversary Super Group)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - February 15, 2024 10:00 - 50 minutes
200 episodes, how is that possible! Ari and Chris are joined by land and by sea by Steve Martin, Amy Fennell, Scott Trauger, Cori Dawson, Brad Moore, Michael Van Horne, Adam Geltz, Shayna Gruman, Natalie Sunray, Hunter Peck, and Kevin O'Brien to celebrate a very special podcast-iversary! We shar...

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Episode 199: Balancing Wellbeing for Animals (with Margaret Rousser)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - February 08, 2024 10:00 - 54 minutes
For our final show before we pass the 200 episode mark (wow!), Ari and Chris are joined by Margaret Rousser, former Conservation Manager at Oakland Zoo (and all-the-time awesome advocate for animals), to talk about the legacy of her groundbreaking talk, "Making Time for Psychological Wellbeing"!...

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Episode 198: Neurodivergence in the Animal Field (with Aaron Rose)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - February 01, 2024 10:00 - 57 minutes
Chris is at the Ranch for our Professional Contemporary Animal Training and Management Workshop, so Ari is hosting alongside a very special returning guest, NEI's own Aaron Rose! Aaron and Ari talk about how to navigate the animal care field when you are neurodivergent. Aaron shares his personal...

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Episode 197: Show Day with the Next Generation

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - January 25, 2024 10:00 - 51 minutes
Chris and Ari discuss their day with the visiting students of Drake University's Animal Behavior Program and Sante Fe Community College's Zoo Technology Program before answering some questions from r/Zookeeping, the subreddit dedicated to folks interested in the professional animal care field! ...

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Episode 196: 3-2-1...Ambush!

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - January 19, 2024 01:36 - 40 minutes
Chris gives Ari some "daywork" by challenging her to follow the format of the "3-2-1 Thursday" weekly newsletter from James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (a great book that Chris reviewed in Episode 177) and come up with the following to share with our listeners: three short ideas, two quotes f...

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Episode 195: Surprise Pocket Walnuts, and Other Ways to Connect (TEC Talk Takeover with Lucy Rutt and Adam Geltz)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - January 11, 2024 10:00 - 1 hour
For this week's episode of the show, forget about Chris and Ari: tune in for the Adam and Lucy Takeover! Our special guest hosts discuss what makes a good mentor, admirable leadership qualities, how to get into leadership, and the importance of enjoying what we do! Whether you have the title of ...

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Episode 194: Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals for 2024

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - January 04, 2024 10:00 - 28 minutes
Hello, 2024! You are 4 days old and full of hope, and will be using you as an opportunity to make New Year's Resolutions. If you find yourself in this boat, Ari shares a few ideas in this episode to help you on a path to succeed at whatever goal you set for yourself through the use of positive r...

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Episode 193: Bye Bye, 2023! (TEC Talk Throwback featuring The End of 2020)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - December 28, 2023 18:42 - 58 minutes
Ari and Chris wrap up the year by sharing how our holidays have gone so far and looking back at how we ended the first year of our show: 2020 (aka "The Year That Nothing Big or Interesting or Weird or Devastating Happened). We hope everyone had a good 2023 and we look forward to being back for m...

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Episode 192: A "Dichotomous Key" for Control Inputs and Welfare Outputs

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - December 21, 2023 10:00 - 54 minutes
Ari and Chris are back in the office to discuss the following question that Chris posed on the ABMA Community online forum: does more control in an animal's life equal objectively better welfare?Joins us as we explore what one might generously call a dichotomous key (does it count if each questi...

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Episode 191: Kreepin' on ZooKreepers (From Two Continents!)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - December 14, 2023 10:15 - 41 minutes
Ari is in Florida and Chris is in Austria, but through the magic of editing they chat "together but apart" about the NEI holiday party and some challenges we're having with our pets before tackling a few questions Ari pulled off the Facebook ZooKreepers group. Thanks for listening, join us again...

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Episode 190: Give Them the Tools, Don't Be the Tool! (with Tim Sullivan)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - December 07, 2023 10:00 - 50 minutes
On this episode, Ari chats with Tim Sullivan (Director of Behavioral Husbandry at Chicago Zoological Society's Brookfield Zoo) about how to grow great keepers and animal care staff into great leaders. They discuss "that sticky spot" when your peers become your direct reports, how to manage expec...

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Episode 189: It's Almost Like Repetition Builds Confidence... (with Amy Fennell)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - November 30, 2023 10:00 - 57 minutes
Ari and Chris are back together and joined by NEI Supervisor of Humaning Amy Fennell! In this wide ranging conversation we talk about the challenge of moving a team of human and animal learners to a new city, the dangers of forgetting to take care of yourself when you're trying to take care of o...

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Episode 188: Traditions (with the Team from Winged Encounters)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - November 23, 2023 08:51 - 38 minutes
With Chris avoiding microphones for the time being (thanks, strange upper respiratory infection from the other side of the planet), Ari catches up with Katelyn Ferringer, Lizzi Fricker, Keegan Freese, and Cori Dawson from the Winged Encounters team! The gang sit down on Turkey Day Eve to revisit...

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Episode 187: Humaning Revisited? Sweet As! (TEC Talk Throwback featuring Amy Fennell)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - November 16, 2023 09:38 - 1 hour
Ari and Chris play a bit of catch up on our lives at opposite sides of planet Earth, describing their past few weeks and individual experiences with New Zealand's Bird of the Century vote (aka "The Pūteke Situation") before throwing things back for a replay of an older episode about trust accoun...

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Episode 186: Enriched Experiences (with Nicki Boyd)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - November 09, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes
Chris and Ari are joined by San Diego Zoo's Curator of Mammals, Ambassadors, and Applied Behavior, Nicki Boyd! We asked Nicki to join to tell us all about the zoo's "Enriched Experiences" program that's taking environmental enrichment to a whole new level! She shares how brainstorming around des...

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Episode 185: When the People Lead, the Leaders Follow (with Ron Magill)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - November 02, 2023 08:42 - 42 minutes
Ron Magill returns to the podcast this week to chat about walking the talk when it comes to conservation efforts! The Florida Bonneted Bat is a critically endangered native Florida species of bat that is only found in a handful of places in South Florida, and one of the largest populations live ...

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Episode 184: Putting Rungs on Your Ladder (with Tim Sullivan)

The TEC Talk Podcast: Presented by Natural Encounters, Inc. - October 26, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour
Fresh off his visit to NEI for AZA's Animal Training Applications course, Ari and Chris are joined by Tim Sullivan, Director of Behavioral Husbandry at Chicago Zoological Society's Brookfield Zoo! Tim talks about his journey from being a "17 year old punk" to a member of zoo leadership, the impo...