What Pets Actually Want & Need | Dr. Karolina Westlund

Welcome to the Huberman Lab Podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Carolina Westland. Dr.

Carolina Westland is an animal ethologist and expert in animal behavior. Dr. Westland and I discuss the relationship between humans and domesticated animals, with a focus on the evidence-based protocols for optimizing the mental and physical health of our pets. Dr. Westlin explains the best way to interact with our animals.

Now we may assume that the way we pet our animals and exercise them and feed them makes them truly happy, but as she points out, many of the things that people assume turn out to be false when it comes to our pets. and their fundamental drives. She teaches us the very basic but powerful things that we can do to satisfy those drives, both for the animal's sake, of course, and to better our relationship with them. We also discuss the unique neurological and physiological requirements of different dog breeds. That's a fascinating conversation that stems from their lineage from wolves and will tell you whether or not your particular breed, even if it's a mutt, should be exercised in a particular way, whether or not it needs additional forms of stimulation that you're not currently giving it, and so on.

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