Healing isn’t always the moment you discover something new.

Sometimes it’s the moment you realise something you’ve always believed wasn’t true.

In this episode of The Feral Behaviourist, I talk about leaving a two-hour counselling session and the emotional weight of understanding my childhood, my late autism diagnosis, neuroplasticity, and why those experiences have profoundly shaped the way I work with both people and dogs.

TW; talk of child abuse.

One thought stayed with me throughout the episode:

People rarely grow because they’ve been shamed. They grow when they feel safe enough to become curious.

If we ask guardians to rethink everything they’ve believed about dog training, we also have a responsibility to recognise the emotional impact that can have.

If someone genuinely believed they were helping their dog, discovering that a tool or technique may instead have caused fear, pain or distress can be heartbreaking.

If we call ourselves ethical professionals, our responsibility doesn’t end with saying, “Don’t use that.”

It continues with creating enough safety to say:

“I’m here. Let’s work through this together.”

Education without compassion can leave people overwhelmed.

Compassion creates space for change.

I’d love to know your thoughts after listening.

🎙️ The Feral Behaviourist – Episode 10: When “Normal” Isn’t Normal