This work exists because something has been missing in the dog world for a long time!
We talk a lot about training dogs, teaching skills, and shaping behaviour — but far less about the humans holding the lead, and the environments those humans are working within.
In reality, every dog is learning through a relationship. And that relationship is shaped just as much by the human’s emotional state, capacity, neurotype, learning style, and lived experience as it is by the training itself.
Yet many training spaces, systems and expectations aren’t designed with that in mind.
When we overlook the human end of the lead — especially when that human is neurodivergent — we don’t just make learning harder for the person. We also impact the clarity, confidence and consistency the dog receives!
This is where things start to break down.
And it’s why I developed The Connection Code.
I believe the strongest partnerships don’t come from understanding the dog alone.
They come from understanding both ends of the lead.
Every dog has their own jigsaw. Every human has theirs.
Each brings their own experiences, emotions, learning history, strengths and challenges into the partnership. When we understand how those pieces fit together, everything changes!
I call this The Connection Code.
The Connection Code is the philosophy that underpins all of my work. Whether I’m supporting neurodivergent dog guardians, helping trainers become more neuro-inclusive, coaching agility partnerships, delivering keynote talks or working with businesses across the dog industry, everything starts with understanding the relationship between the human and the dog.
I bring this philosophy to life through my Jigsaw Approach, a practical way of helping people understand both sides of the partnership rather than focusing on just one.
That philosophy didn’t appear overnight.
It has been evolving throughout my entire career.
Long before I had a name for it, I was using jigsaw pieces to help people understand dog behaviour, human behaviour and how the two continually influence one another. Over time, that way of thinking grew into the Connection Code; a philosophy that now connects every part of my work.
Dogs & Divergent Minds is the space where this work comes together.
Everything I create begins around what I call The Campfire – an environment where people feel welcome to slow down, ask questions, share stories and explore ideas together. It’s where curiosity comes before certainty, connection comes before perfection, and meaningful conversations create lasting change.
Within that environment, The Connection Code™ provides the philosophy that underpins my work, while The Jigsaw Approach™ is the practical framework I use to bring those ideas to life. Through coaching, training, speaking, education and community, those three ideas shape everything I do.
My work focuses on supporting neurodivergent dog guardians, agility handlers, trainers, and professionals to better understand both ends of the lead — and to create more neuro-inclusive, effective, humane, and accessible ways of working with dogs.
This includes The Neuro-Inclusive Dog Professional Network, one-to-one coaching, online courses, professional development, speaking, workshops, learning resources, and community spaces that explore neuro-inclusivity, behaviour, and the human–dog relationship in practice.
Everything I do is built around the same principle: when we understand the dog and the human as individuals — and how they connect — we create better outcomes for both!
The Connection Code™ has grown far beyond a simple concept. It has become the philosophy that underpins everything I teach, from neurodivergent dog guardians and neuro-inclusive professional practice to behaviour, agility and beyond.
If you’d like to discover more about The Connection Code™, The Jigsaw Approach™ and the different ways this philosophy can be applied throughout the dog world, click below.
→ Explore The Connection Code™
→ Explore The Jigsaw Approach™
My journey into this industry didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with a dog called Milo.
Milo came into my life during a period of severe anxiety, when even leaving the house alone felt overwhelming. Training him became a lifeline — a way to cope, connect, and slowly rebuild confidence. But as I moved through classes, courses, and the wider dog world, something never quite fit.
The teaching styles, expectations, and environments often made things harder rather than easier. At the time, I believed this was anxiety. Looking back, I now understand it through the lens of neurodivergence as a late diagnosed AuDHDer.
Determined to do better for Milo, I immersed myself in learning.
Over the years, I gained extensive qualifications across dog training, behaviour, and agility, alongside formal qualifications in business, management, coaching, counselling, and psychology. What started as a need to support one dog grew into a deep understanding of both dogs and people, and how often the human side of training is overlooked.
Before working in the dog industry full time, I had already set up and managed multiple successful businesses. Today, I bring that experience together with my dog world expertise, supporting a wide range of professionals including dog trainers, agility instructors, canicross coaches, dog walkers, home boarding providers, massage therapists, and secure field owners.
Over more than 11 years in the dog industry, the way I understand dogs, people and partnerships has continued to evolve.
What began as a way of making sense of the dog world gradually became something much bigger.
Today, that thinking is brought together through The Jigsaw Approach™, the practical framework I use to identify, strengthen and put the right pieces in place for success, and The Connection Code™, the philosophy that explains how those pieces influence one another through every interaction we have.
Together, they underpin everything I teach, every resource I create and every conversation I have.
My business coaching is practical, values led, and designed to work with neurodivergent brains rather than against them.
Dogs and Divergent Minds exists to bridge the gap between neurodivergence and the dog world. It is a space for neurodivergent dog guardians, agility handlers, trainers, and business owners to feel seen, safe, and supported, and capable of succeeding in ways that suit their brains, their dogs, and their lives.
This work extends through my coaching, training resources, podcasts, blog posts, guest speaking, and community spaces, including Dog Agility Unmasked and the Neuro-Inclusive Dog Hub.
The first Dogs and Divergent Minds Awareness Day took place on Sunday 1st June 2025, marking an important step in opening up honest conversations within the industry.
You may notice I use a jigsaw piece within my branding. This is a thoughtful and intentional choice, and one I’ve explored in depth in a dedicated blog post for those who would like to understand the meaning behind it.
Much of my journey, including the role Milo played in shaping my life and career, is shared in my book Milo: The Dog That Gave Me It All and I am due to release my second book very soon.
If you are neurodivergent and navigating life with dogs, or supporting neurodivergent clients within your work, you are very welcome here.
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