Beyond the Bowl: Sensory Diets to Regulate Your Dog's Nervous System (and YOURS!) with Sharon Vincuilla

Hi there, and thank you so much for joining me! Today, I talk with Sharon Vincuilla of Human Canine Collaborative all about co-regulating our nervous systems with our dogs. With a doctorate in Occupational Therapy and certification as a professional dog trainer and dog behaviour consultant, Sharon has extensive experience in taking an interspecies approach to helping dogs and their humans find grounding and joy by co-regulating their nervous systems. In particular, her practice focuses on supporting neurodivergent dog guardians in regulating their nervous systems while reducing reactive, anxious, or aggressive behaviour in their dogs, and today she shares with us what this can look like in practice, and some simple tips that you can apply in your relationship with your own dog.  I was really excited to have Sharon on the podcast because the conversations she brings to the table around the need to recognise different ways of processing the world, and the need to create inclusive ways of supporting pet parents and dogs with different sensory needs are just so important to be having. In talking with Sharon, I found myself having so many “aha” moments, including realising areas where I can, personally, become more empathetic and inclusive - with humans and dogs alike. And where I can have more self-compassion, too! I really appreciated that Sharon asked if we could start the conversation with some breath work to anchor us both in our bodies, and to the moment, so that we could be more present for one another in our conversation. I just loved that suggestion, and asked if we could invite you, the audience, to join us, too, and she was thrilled to do that. So, this episode starts off with Sharon leading us through a short grounding exercise, which we invite you to join us in if it is safe and comfortable for you to do so. From there, Sharon shares her journey of bringing together Occupational Therapy and an understanding of dog behaviour and dogs’ emotional needs via her experience in animal-assisted interventions. This ultimately led her to the work she does today in the Human Canine Collaborative. There is so much goodness in the episode, but to give you some highlights, you will learn about: What a sensory diet is and how to use it to better meet your dog’s and your own sensory needs Really helpful tips and tricks to build awareness of your nervous system’s needs, your dog’s nervous system needs, and how to co-regulate Neurodiversity and neurodivergence, and whether or not it’s appropriate to think about our dogs in these contexts and with these terms Why Sharon refers to her dog, Muggins, with the they/them pronouns, and why you may consider doing the same with your dog How Muggins’s experiences with stress, trauma, and hypersensitivity paralleled Sharon’s experiences of navigating a diagnosis of C-PTSD and autism, and how she worked with and through that Tips on how you can navigate a difficult situation where you and your dog are both triggered at the same time This episode is sponsored by Aspirationery ,which in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to support you in becoming all you aspire to be. I’m really excited to announce that we have released a Spanish language version of our popular My First Period Tracker for Young Girls and Tweens in order to increase menstrual literacy and empower young people to become advocates for their menstrual health. You can learn more about our books on our Instagram https://instagram.com/aspirationery OK, on that note, let’s go! Connect with Sharon: https://hc-collab.com Instagram https://instagram.com/holisticdogexpert Happy Dog Happy Human podcast Connect with me: https://mysticdogmama.com https://instagram.com/mysticdogmama