Happy Dog Happy Human

In this episode, we explore neurodiversity in dogs and share our experiences of living with dogs whose behavior, sensory sensitivities, and training needs diverge from the "norm" of expected dog behavior. We also dig deeper into the term "neurodivergent" and examine the pro's and con's of using this term with dogs. Angela helps us find curiosity by accepting our dogs for who they are and Sharon shares the "Consensual Petting" Care Tip to help us give more autonomy to dogs when they interact with us. 

In this episode, we explore neurodiversity, ableism, and the deficit-based medical model of mental health care by sharing our personal experiences with being labeled, discovering our neurodivergence, and reclaiming a strengths-based approach to caring for ourselves. Sharon helps us appreciate the challenges and opportunities with being a neurodivergent dog guardian, and Angela teaches us the Humming Bee’s Breath to help us connect with our bodies and the greater human collective.

In this episode, we explore our perceptions of what it means to be a “successful” dog guardian and how this impacts our mental health and our perceptions of our dogs’ behavior. We also answer the questions: Do dogs set goals? Do they feel proud when they accomplish something? And, How do they feel about failure? Angela opens up about her journey as Duchess’s guardian, and Sharon shares the Sniff Box tip, a low cost resource to enrich your dog’s days and support them in managing frustration.

In this episode, we explore “success” by sharing personal stories that highlight the contrast between our individual motivations and society’s expectations with professionalism and entrepreneurship. Angela illuminates the dark side of striving for fame and fortune, while Sharon demonstrates a shifted perspective on success by zooming in on Tom’s special moments with Muggins. We wrap it up with the Loving Kindness Meditation Care Tip and a reframe on failure as a sign of success.

In this episode, we explore how toxic positivity shows up in our relationships with dogs and contributes to actions like praising dogs for being “tolerant” of rough play and touch by children, and saying “are you going to get another one?” after a friend’s dog dies.  We also challenge the idea that “a tired dog is a good dog”, honor the nuance involved in rehoming a dog, and identify ways to support each other better through dog death and difficult dog behavior.

In this episode, we explore “toxic positivity” and share personal examples of how we experience or engage in toxic positivity in relationships with our children, partners, and our dogs. Sharon outlines how the skills of being aware of your capacity and asking for help can support you in avoiding toxic positivity, and Angela leads us through the “Sitting with Discomfort” Care Tip. 

In this episode, we explore how urgency shows up in our relationships with dogs. Angela helps us recognize how dogs seem to feel urgency when they are pulling toward something on the leash, and highlights how dogs also show us that resting is important. Sharon shares a story about how urgency comes up when providing hygiene care for Muggins, and then we learn from Muggins that pausing for a belly rub, a sniff, or to process our experiences can support our overall well being in really important ways.

In this episode, we explore how urgency culture contributes to anxiety while striving to hit milestone expectations around school, marriage, and having children. Sharon tells a story about how urgency shows up in her practices of work and entrepreneurship, and Angela facilitates the “Do Nothing” Care Tip. We also illuminate how turtles, dogs, and children teach wise lessons about slowing down, while also providing opportunities to practice prioritizing rest, play, and just being together.

In this episode we explore how binary thinking and perfectionism contribute to perceptions of the “ideal dog” and our tendencies to judge ourselves and others when our dogs are not behaving in the “ideal” way. We also celebrate that dogs are “anti-perfectionist” and discover what we can learn from them about self-acceptance and authenticity.

Episode 1 is all about perfectionism. Content alert: In this episode, we discuss the experience of eating disorders. Angela and I share how internalized perfectionism has impacted our mental health, Angela facilitates a guided meditation for connecting with our healthiest selves, and we practice being authentic with each other and our dogs.

In this final episode of Season 1, we review what psychosis is and Angela helps us differentiate between this and schizophrenia. Then we explore the experience of psychosis in dogs, illuminating the phenomena of “fly catching syndrome” and “star gazing”, touch on the health-related side-effects of selective breeding, and Sharon shares about a behavior case that highlights the importance of ruling out underlying medical causes when assessing dog behavior. 

In this episode we talk about the human experience of psychosis, which refers to disorders of thought as well as hallucinations and delusional beliefs. Angela busts some myths about psychosis and helps us understand why we need to move past the DSM when supporting humans labeled with mental illness, and both Angela and Sharon share experiences with working with individuals who experience psychosis, our perspectives on the brilliance of individuals labeled with schizophrenia, and ways that dogs can support connection and engagement in meaningful activity for folks experiences psychosis.

In this episode, we explore self-awareness and pessimism and the idea of whether dogs are aware of themselves and capable of having an overall outlook on life. We also discuss similarities between depression and other medical conditions and the importance of ruling out pain or underlying medical diagnoses. And we explore strategies that can help dogs who may be depressed, such as engaging in sniffing, having choices, and the importance of considering medication.

In this episode, we discuss suicidal ideation and practice how to ask someone if they are thinking of killing themselves. We also talk about the emotional and physical experiences of depression, how depression is a component of everyone’s mood fluctuations and it is a normal response to stressful situations, and how living with a dog provides a variety of supportive opportunities for humans experiencing depression.

In this episode we talk about the dog experience of grief, what this looks like in dogs, how we can help our dogs through grief, and we share stories about dogs we know who have grieved the death of their human or animal sibling, and stories from around the world of dogs who have demonstrated loyalty even after death.

In this episode we talk about the human experience of grief, what types of losses trigger grief, how to make sense of the complex emotional experience of grief, and how we grieve for our dogs both before and after they are gone.

In this episode we talk about the experiences of trauma and post-traumatic stress in dogs, what causes post-traumatic stress, how this relates to reactivity and sensory sensitivity, how our dogs’ trauma-related reactions and behaviors impact us, and some strategies to support us both.

In this episode we talk about the human experience of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), how dogs can trigger trauma responses and how they can provide support as therapeutic partners, and our own personal experiences.

In this episode we explore the dog experience of anxiety. We talk about what this looks like in our own dogs, Duchess and Muggins, how their anxiety impacts us, the environmental factors that contribute to dog anxiety, and strategies that we have found helpful.

In this episode, we explore the human experience of anxiety. We talk about what anxiety is , how our environments and societal structures contributes to anxiety, and how our dogs' behavior triggers anxiety responses in us.