Welcome to the Mindful Dog Parent, the podcast for overwhelmed and anxious dog owners who are doing their best but still feel like they're getting it all wrong.

I'm Sian, a trauma informed coach and ethical dog trainer.

I created this podcast because dog parenting.

Isn'T always cute reels and perfect walks.

Sometimes it's tears after training, guilt in the quiet moments, or just feeling like.

You'Re the only one struggling.

If you've ever said, I love my.

Dog, but this is really hard, you're in the right place.

Each week I'll bring you calm, compassionate guidance to help you build confidence, regulate your emotions and reconnect with your dog.

Even when things feel messy because you're not failing, you're just overwhelmed and you don't have to figure this out on your own.

With September almost here and routines starting to change again, the kids going back to school, some holidays are ending and suddenly starts, life starts to feel busier and tighter and a lot more structured again and our dogs are going to feel it as well.

So at the time of recording this, we're not quite at September yet, but it's all starting to potentially get a little bit more busy because we're setting, getting like the kids uniforms ready for the next year and they want new stationery, we're going shopping a lot and all the things, so lots going on.

So that's why today I want to talk about these changes and how they ripple through both you and your dog and how you can bring in more calm and connection during this back to school season in some simple ways.

So if you're feeling frazzled, guilty, like you're already behind before the months even started, just take a breath.

You and your dog deserve a reset.

So the first thing that I want to go through is why routine changes feel so big.

So I want you to think about it.

Dogs do thrive on predictability.

They notice patterns in our day more often than not before we do.

So clients that I've worked with previously, I ask them, are you doing something before you leave the house?

So if it's a separation anxiety case, it's called a pre departure cue.

So if you're doing something enough, even if it's only small, and these pre departure cues can be so subtle and so specific to the clients, a lot of the time the client has to think about it and kind of go away for the week and say, actually yeah, I do do these things and have that conscious awareness of doing it.

But dogs are going to be spotting all those little things so it can be when the morning routine starts to shift so the alarm goes off earlier, rushing out of the door, more time left alone, it can start to feel unsettling for them again because they've been used to people being around more.

You might go out for the day, but you're getting up a bit later.

You know, there's just those little things.

For us, it's not much easier.

September often carries this, like, New Year energy, I think, for a lot of people.

So there's probably more work, deadlines, clubs and commitments start up again.

So if your kids are going to kind of different clubs and extracurricular kind of sessions, they can all start back up again.

The pressure to get organized can easily tip into stress because we have to put everything in the diary, cram it all in and try and get all the things done again.

And you think, well, how the hell did I have time to do this before when I haven't got to feel like I haven't got the time to do it now?

And when you're stressed, your dog's going to feel it as well, because that's what happens.

They can feel.

They mirror our nervous system more than we realise.

Which means if you're rushing, if you're tense, if you're distracted, your dog's ability to regulate goes down as well.

So I've worked with clients whose dogs are very, very in tune with them and do mirror their mood to a point where it might feel a little bit unhealthy.

So if their dog parent is going through some mental health crisis or they go through moments of depression and things like that, the dog starts to pick up on those things maybe even before it's happening.

And like, you know, full, full on kind of, they just start to see those changes in their human.

It can just be something that they mirror quite a lot.

So that's an extreme example.

But if we starting to feel that, that frazzled and the stress and all of the things needing to be crammed into a day that we just think we need like more than 24 hours, they're going to feel that as well.

So I want to talk about the emotional side for dog parents here, because here's why the guilt often creeps in around this time.

So I've talked about dog parent guilt in a previous episode, so go check.

I think it was maybe episode three or four that I did that.

So go check that out.

But there's a few reasons why at the moment it's creeping in, because first thing is that it's potential guilt that you're not walking them as much as you did during the summer, it's inevitable that you probably go out on more walks, out for longer, and you're out for day trips with them.

Guilt that your dog's home alone more often because inevitably again, you're going back to work.

Structure and all of that kind of thing changes.

Guilt that you're snapping or feeling a bit more impatient when things feel hectic, that's a biggie as well.

Even without kids.

That's how I feel with my life sometimes.

So that guilt is starting to add weight to everything that you do.

It's gonna start to make training feel harder.

It's gonna make that connection feel further away.

And it can start to spiral into, I'm failing my dog.

But I just want to remind you, as I always do, you're not failing, you're adapting.

Because it's that new New Year vibe and so is your dog.

Your dog is adapting to this new routine and it's.

It might.

There might not feel like there's very much changed from the previous year.

If your kids find kind of finished school in June, July, and they're going back to school, it is a new school year, but not much has changed because they're still in the same school and all of that kind of stuff.

There's still been a really long period of time where things have been different.

If it's been a big change where the school's changing and they might, you know, the school drop off might be further away than it was before.

You're going to be going out a little bit earlier.

So there's, there's bigger things that can be like, going on under there as well.

But I just want to go through three ways to bring back calm in September for you and your dog.

So I want you to keep one anchor routine, even if everything else is shifting.

Keep one thing the same every day.

And it could just be that morning sniffy walk, even if it's not for as long as it would normally be.

You might be popping outside and walking them for 15 minutes before you do the school run.

That is fine.

But if you try and keep that same routine, it's just an anchor point for you and your dog.

It could be a cuddle before bed, so it might be at the end of the day instead.

So flipping it on its head.

You don't have time in the morning, let's do something at the end.

And it's just that cuddle before bed that you do with them every day.

That predictability is going to help Both you and your dog feel more grounded as a result.

So there is that one familiar thing that is happening every day that is going to bring you back together and that connection is going to be strong as well.

So then the second thing is building in reset points.

Instead of focusing on more training, more effort, give yourself and your dog small reset breaks.

So five minutes of calm play, scatter feeding a chew while you have time to go make a cuppa and actually breathe those micro moments.

So really small moments regulate nervous systems better than trying to squeeze in a frantic training session.

Way better.

If anything, that frantic training session, if you're trying to do it, is probably going to feel overwhelming and you're going to get frustrated and your dog's probably going to get overstimulated as well.

So try and do something like that as the alternative if that's how you're feeling that day.

And the third one is to simplify your training focus.

So this feeds from the last episode, so episode 10, but I want to remind you that this really, really helps.

So pick one behavior or goal for the next two weeks.

That is something that I went through in a lot more detail in the last episode.

I don't want you to try and juggle recall, loose lead reactivity and impulse control all at once.

Decide what matters most right now for you and give yourself permission to go slowly with it.

So even if you're only making small wins and you're making progress, so listen to episode 10, because I do go through that in a lot more detail.

But I do want those three things.

So it's keeping one anchor routine.

So one small thing that you do with your dog every day, build in a reset point and simplify your training focus, because they're all going to help.

And then, as always, a little challenge for you this week.

I'd just love it if you could try to choose one anchor routine to keep steady this month.

Create one reset point each day.

So that could be the cuddle, the sniff, walk, the chew, whatever suits your dog.

And I want you to notice one micro win.

So did your dog settle quicker today?

Did they check in with you more often?

Write it down, put it in a little tracker.

Small steady changes are what start to create that calm.

And September is the perfect time to build them in because you're getting back into that routine of doing all the things as you would normally do.

So if this episode's landed with you, I'd love for you to share it with a friend who's feeling the back to school kind of chaos.

Right now or the pre Back to School chaos if you're listening to it as the brand new episode's released.

If you're craving more structured support, make sure you sign up to my Calm Connection Challenge at the end of September.

So I'm giving you time to get back into that routine and do those three things.

It's a four day free reset for you and your dog.

I'll put all the details in the show notes, but it's there to help you guys to rebuild that calm connection.

Doing some things that are really simple at the end of September, so you don't need to do it all at once.

You don't need to be perfect.

I need to remind everybody of that and I need to remind myself sometimes as well.

Just choose that one anchor, create one reset point notice, one mic for win.

And if you're not sure of any of those things and you want a little bit more, kind of you want to suggest what you're thinking, send me a DM on Instagram, send me an email.

I'll put my details in the show notes as well on how you can connect with me, but that is just something quick that you can do.

So thanks for listening.

I'll see you next time on the Mindful Dog Parent.

Thanks so much for tuning in to the Mindful Dog Parent.

If this episode gave you something to.

Think about or it just made you.

Feel a little less alone, I would love it if you followed the show.

And shared it with another dog parent who needs it.

You'll find all the links and resources.

Mentioned in the show notes@lavendergardenanimalservices.co.uk podcast and.

I would love to stay in touch so head there if you want to.

Explore more ways to work with me or get support.