Attachment and Bonds with Karolina Westlund, PhD
This webinar session was broadcast as part of the Brain Train event – November 2025
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Webinar Description
The concept of Attachment (the strong emotional bond between infants and their caregiver) has been extensively studied in humans – but in this session, Karolina will discuss why and how it’s also highly relevant with regards to dogs.
In this presentation, we will cover what scientific studies tell us about Attachment styles and behaviour, both with regards to how caregivers develop Attachment to dogs, as well as how dogs develop Attachment to their caregivers. Karolina will cover the benefits of Secure Attachment, the Secure base effect and the concept of the Safe Haven – and also the effects of Insecure Attachment and the long-term effects of different Attachment Styles. Also, she will share her thoughts on the difference in how free-ranging dogs raise their offspring compared to standard breeding/weaning arrangements for owned dogs in many parts of the world – and how Insecure Attachment may tie in with the prevalence of Separation-related problem behaviour.
Learning objectives:
- What is Attachment and why is it a relevant concept when it comes to dogs and their humans?
- What is the Safe Haven and Secure Base effect?
- How can I help my dog develop Secure Attachment?
Your Presenter – Karolina Westlund, PhD
Karolina Westlund helps pet lovers and animal professionals get happier animals that thrive in the care of humans. She grew up pining for a kitten for several years, and pestering her parents until they gave up. The green-eyed black half-siamese cat that she got for her seventh birthday became a true friend who lived to be 21 years old, but an easily startled cat who often went into hiding when there were visitors.
Karolina had grand ideas about becoming a field biologist, but that never came about – the closest she got was working as a trekking travel guide in France and Madeira. Instead she majored in Ethology and developed a passionate interest in animal welfare seen through a multidisciplinary lens, including Behaviour Analysis and Affective Neuroscience. She is now an Associate Professor of Ethology at the University of Stockholm, mostly teaching how behaviour management can be used to improve animal welfare.
She offers live seminars, free online webinars and masterclasses in addition to more extensive online courses, as well as the occasional blog post or scientific publication on the topic of enrichment, animal training and wellbeing. She lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with her husband, two kids, and, hopefully soon, another cat.
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