For as long as I can remember during my childhood I longed for a dog and I was always told we could not have one, but that did not stop me from trying. I think my mother got sick of me coming home with stray dogs asking if we could keep them. Little did she know that I spent hours looking for them and encouraging them to follow me home. I even got bitten on the nose once by the vicar’s dog as I bent down to stroke it – I learnt valuable lesson from that but it never deterred me from my quest to have a dog of my own. Meanwhile I spent all my spare time walking people’s dogs purely for the sheer pleasure of being close to these beautiful animals.
As soon as I left home I got my first dog and have never been without one since. My passion for dogs has never waned. In 2004 I read The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell and it was like a door opening. At that time I had a rescue dog Toby who destroyed my carpets and chewed all my shoes every time we left him at home and a Lurcher, Megan, who was becoming dog aggressive. I had to find out more and so I attended the foundation course in Canine Communication and the change in my dogs was amazing. Then in 2007 my husband started a dog walking business and he soon found that many of his clients had real problems with their dogs so I attended the Advanced Course and was awarded the Advanced Certificate in Canine Communication. I became a Dog Listener so that I could help these owners with their problems.
It has been a wonderful journey of discovery culminating in a trip to Yellowstone Park in Montana USA in February 2009 along with other Dog Listeners to study the wolves in their natural habitat. I have learned so much, but the best teachers have been my five rescue dogs. Living and working with dogs which have been abused or ill-treated by humans has taught me more than I thought was possible and the rewards have been indescribable. Every day I learn a little more and I feel privileged and blessed when a sad and damaged little dog chooses to put its trust in me.
We all love our dogs and it is so hard when we begin to experience difficulties with their behaviour and we don’t know how to deal with it and put it right. There is a mountain of information out there including books about training or behaviour and Dog Training Clubs. There are even training aids like sprays, shock collars and harnesses. There is always a relative or friend willing to give advice but I guarantee it will always be different and in the end people become swamped with so much conflicting information that this in turn causes confusion with the dog and will often make the behaviour worse.
Dog Listening is simple and effective. Anyone can do it and, more importantly, it works. We have all seen these dog training programmes on TV with the disclaimer at the bottom of the screen “Do not try this at home”. Well the good news is that we say “DO try this at home”.
It never ceases to amaze me how much a dog will change if given the correct signals. When your dog chooses to elect you as leader, there is no need for you to control your dog with orders or physical restraint. Your dog will learn the best control – self control – and will be relaxed, happy and a pleasure to live with.
I am based in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire.
Give me a call or take a look at my website, I am always happy to talk “dog”.
Telephone: 0845 1569541
Mobile: 07792 371947
Website: www.k9listener.co.uk
