ADHD, Dog Personalities, and Living in a Rural Area

This week we are talking to Autumn from @autumnal.aussies! Autumn is a dog bather and daycare handler living in Washington State with her husband, Timothy, and their 4 Australian Shepherds: Camo, Skittles, Rand and Xayah! Ranging from 15 months to 12 years old, they mainly do off leash hikes in the forests in their area, but Autumn also dabbles in sports with them to varying degrees as their budget and mental health allows. Autumn focuses on accessible, affordable sports that don't require rigorous repetitions or commitment to a class schedule, because of her ADHD, and taps into her dogs’ natural drives. Barn Hunt, Herding, Parkour, and Bikejoring are her main focuses at the moment!

Autumn says she can definitely emphasize with her reactive dogs' struggles with impulse control, emotional regulation and overstimulation because she lives with ADHD. Dog training has given her a way to cope and has provided grounding strategies, which is what we are going to talk about today!