Episode 10 – What If It Wasn’t the Client Who Changed… But Me?

It’s easy to blame the client:

• “They’ve become too demanding.”

• “They used to be nicer.”

• “They don’t understand my work anymore.”

But what if, instead of looking at how they’ve changed, we asked how we might have changed?

The Evolution of the Professional: A Strength… or a Trap?

With time, we grow. We become more skilled, faster, more experienced.But sometimes, we also become:

• more mechanical,

• less patient,

• more sure of ourselves.

And without realizing it, we lose our human touch:

The desire to listen.

The joy of explaining.

The warmth in how we interact.

Signs That We May Have Changed

We’re more rushed

Less time to greet or say goodbye. Fewer questions. Less care.

We feel like we’ve “seen it all”

So we assume. We stop double-checking. We stop listening deeply.

We struggle more with criticism

More sensitive, more defensive. Often from fatigue or burnout.

We’ve lost the curiosity and kindness of our early days

Not from lack of passion, but from exhaustion, pressure, or lack of recognition.

Returning to What Matters

It’s not weakness to say:

“I’m not as attentive as I used to be.”

It’s self-awareness.And it’s the first step to reconnecting with what made us great in the first place:

• The ability to connect,

• To adapt to each human-dog pair,

• To make every appointment a positive experience.

In Summary

Yes, sometimes the client changes. But sometimes, we do too. And that’s okay.

Because we have the power to return to what drives us:

Respect, care, listening, and love for the craft.

If the client was right… maybe they were just holding up a mirror.

🙏 Thank you for following this series. Feel free to share it, discuss it with your peers, or revisit it when in doubt.Every challenge is a chance to understand, grow, and evolve.