Monthly webinars bridging neurodivergence and the dog industry
The monthly Rise Up Webinar is a monthly webinar series created to support neurodivergent dog people and dog professionals.
Each month, we explore a different topic that sits at the intersection of neurodivergence, dogs, and the dog industry. Some sessions focus on helping dog professionals make their services more inclusive, while others support neurodivergent handlers, owners, and professionals to better understand their own needs, challenges, and strengths.
These webinars are designed to be practical, compassionate, and accessible – no pressure to “fix” yourself, no judgement, and no unnecessary overwhelm. Just clear information, relatable examples, and tools you can actually use.
This month’s webinar:
Live webinar at 7.30pm on WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH 2026 (replay with lifetime access included)
This month’s Wise Up Wednesday webinar explores Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) and how it can show up in dog training, handling, competition agility, and working with clients.
Dog training environments are full of feedback, comparison, and evaluation. When RSD is present, small mistakes, comments, or pieces of feedback can feel intense, personal, and overwhelming, even when no criticism is intended.
In this session, we’ll look at common RSD thought patterns such as facing judgement, catastrophising comments, and personalisation, and how these can affect confidence, decision-making, perfectionism, and self-worth. We’ll also explore how past experiences and past dogs can feed into current reactions, and why celebrating progress can be difficult when RSD is involved.
The webinar is designed for both dog professionals and dog owners, recognising that many people experience RSD in multiple roles, as a trainer, a handler, and a client.
Alongside understanding RSD, this session includes practical, gentle strategies to reduce overwhelm, respond more kindly to mistakes and feedback, and reframe “failure” as useful information to move you forward.
This is a supportive, educational session focused on awareness, reflection, and practical tools, not diagnosis.
What You’ll Learn
- What Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) is and why it often feels amplified in dog training environments
- How RSD can affect confidence, self-worth, and decision-making in training and competition
- Common RSD thought patterns, including mind reading, catastrophisation, and personalisation
- Why perfectionism, over-preparation, and fear of getting it wrong can develop as protection
- How past experiences and past dogs can influence current reactions to feedback
- The impact of RSD on both dog professionals and clients
- Practical ways to respond more kindly to mistakes and reframe “failure” as useful feedback
Why Join a Wise Up Webinar?
- Learn how neurodivergence shows up in dog ownership and dog-related work
- Gain practical tools for managing overwhelm, confidence, and expectations and more!
- Understand how to create or access more inclusive dog spaces
- Feel less alone in struggles that are often misunderstood or dismissed
- Short, focused sessions designed with neurodivergent needs in mind
These webinars are educational, reflective, and supportive – designed to help you wise up with clarity, not criticism.
From April: RISE up Webinars update:
From April, monthly webinars will run as RISE up Webinars.
RISE up Webinars are professional development training sessions designed for dog professionals and committed dog guardians who want practical, neuro-inclusive understanding they can actively apply.
RISE up Webinars include:
- a 60-minute live training session
- access to the webinar replay
- a downloadable certificate of attendance (1 hour of professional learning)
RISE up Webinars are included at no additional cost for members of the Neuro-inclusive Dog Professional Network (NIDPN).
Want Full Access?
All past Rise Up Webinars and additional resources are available nside my new membership:
The Neuro-Inclusive Dog Professional Network (NIDPN)
Your presenter:
Katrina is a neurodivergent dog professional and the founder of Dogs and Divergent Minds. Through the monthly Wise Up Webinars, she supports neurodivergent dog people and dog professionals by sharing practical, knowledgeable insights, lived experience, and inclusive approaches to working and living with dogs.
Dogs And Divergent Minds 