BENGALURU: Saturday mornings have been a fun one for pet parents in the city as they have been gathering at The Collar Club for the ‘Therepaw’, a four-week programme for pet parents with nervous or reactive dogs.
In its second week, new and old pawrents gathered to work with in-house trainer Tara James and Nikita Moses, both owners of The Collar Club, along with therapist Atthaliah Simmons and wellness therapist Ashritha.
After participants introduced themselves and shared what having pets mean to them, Simmons explained how dogs tend to pick the emotions that humans display to them. Throughout the session, therapy dog Ania, an eight-month-old Rottweiler, worked with the pawrents.
This was followed by a mirror exercise where each participant was asked to face the mirror and notice their rections when they see words like ‘happy’, ‘sad’, ‘disgust’, ‘angry’, ‘fearful’ and ‘surprised’. Simmons added that sessions like this are important for everyone, especially after the pandemic.
“The only thing that kept everyone going was knowing that they weren’t the only ones facing it. But it also brought about a tonne of anxiety which everyone is dealing with on their own. As a pet parent, you tend to do that little extra to stay calm but may not physically show it, which the pet tends to pick up. That’s why such exercises are crucial,” she explains.
The session also saw mimicking activities and co-regulation in pairs. Wellness therapist Ashritha took over with a yoga session for the participants. The session closed with a calming 30-minute activity. “I’m going to try it out now with my pet and hopefully, I will see some changes,” said one of the participants. Ania was also part of the yoga session where she gave plenty of licks and fist bumps to the participants.
The third week covered the importance of individual coping skills, psychoeducation on trauma and its effects on anxiety and teaching individuals anxiety management skills like ground, square breathing, drivers response and sighing.
The last week will have a discussion on individual challenges while managing anxiety. To sign up for the
upcoming sessions, log on to thecollarclub.co.in