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Hi collaborator, I am delighted to share that I was a guest on the Mystic Dog Mama Podcast! The host, Dr. Alexia Mellor is a Spiritual Wellness Coach and Holistic Canine Nutrition and Wellness Consultant. She reached out to me over the summer bursting with fresh curiosity and invited me to do an episode. Alexia’s questions created a beautiful overview of my work. So, you’ll find answers to all your burning questions, including: Why do I like to start every conversation/session with deep breaths? How did I go from dog training to occupational therapy? What is occupational therapy? How do I use sensory diets to support human and dog nervous
system health? What is neurodivergence and does this apply to dogs? Why don’t I believe that dogs love us unconditionally?
Here’s a juicy taste of what you’ll find inside the episode: Alexia asked, “What are some practical things that are beneficial for helping the pet parent support their own nervous system while also supporting their dogs?” My answer: “Slowing down and listening. I always think of this as the first step. In order to know what we need, we have to be able to feel what’s going on in our bodies.” Part of my answer was also that “there isn’t an intellectual hurdle to get over to be able to co-regulate.” The body’s wisdom guides us to co-regulate all the time, whether we’re conscious of this or not. For example, you might phone a friend to vent after your boss added to your job description without bumping your pay. Or maybe you break out into a silly song and dance while prepping lunch to distract and calm your screaming “hangry” toddler. Our dog’s bodies also have wisdom that inspires them to co-regulate. Dogs roll on their backs to request belly rubs because the deep pressure helps them wake up, or sometimes they push their favorite toys into our legs because they need to move their bodies before shifting to nap time. We can also co-regulate intentionally…by listening to our bodies and to our dog’s bodies. When we really listen and notice how we feel (or how our dogs feel), we can recognize what is needed and take action to meet those needs. This means that our needs and our dog’s needs are more likely to be met, which results in us being able to show up better in every area of our lives, and our dogs being behaving with less intense reactivity, anxiety, or aggression. But to hear what the bodies are saying, we must first slow down.
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