I was born wanting to be around dogs and I don’t think I ever stopped nagging my parents to let me have one of my own.
Eventually, fate brought Griselda to live with us.
Originally we were supposed to be looking after her while her family were on holiday for six weeks.
Luckily for me when they came home they had decided to move abroad and didn’t want to take her with them.
My Dad often said ‘Nowt so permanent as a temporary dog’!
For a small dog she was such a huge character and absolutely adored by us all.
She was especially treasured during our teenage years, as you could tell her anything and she never judged!
Iain and I were keen to have dogs as soon as we were married.
Luckily his Mum went travelling for a couple of months leaving her two Hungarian Vizslas with us. This gave us a good opportunity to test the reality of working full-time away from home and caring for dogs. We quickly realised it wasn’t the right time for us to own dogs.
Then one day, while taking food donations to Bath Cats and Dogs Home, there was Willow...
We looked at her, she looked at us. She came to the fence, leaned her body against us, and told us we were her humans.
She was the most wonderful dog, but not easy. A whole string of people had tried re-homing her but no match had lasted. We were told in no uncertain terms, that if we took her home we had to keep her.
We were her last chance.
She was described as highly reactive - every dog she saw she would attack first and ask questions later. No wonder really - she had survived as a stray for nearly a year so anxiety was high for her.
Sadly this meant we could never let her off the lead unless we were in a secure field.
I can truly say it was because of Willow that I became a dog trainer.
We wanted her to live her best life, and we really tried. Looking back now I am horrified by some of the advice we were given. From shouting at her, to pinning her to the ground to show her we were more dominant than her, grim!
It went against our gut feelings but we were doing the best we could with the information given to us. But it wasn’t working, nothing was changing so we stopped and managed as best we could with our own instincts and ideas.
Even with limitations on her freedom, she still had a fabulous life and she taught us both so much. So now when owners approach me with a 'Naughty But Nice dog', I understand their struggles.
I know what it’s like to have your dog securely on a double lead, (plus a harness or muzzle!) and have other owners allow their dog to run up shouting ‘It’s okay, she’s friendly’ for me to shout back, ‘No it’s not okay, mine isn’t’!
...and to feel that sense of disbelief and shame as an owner tells you the resulting chaos was your fault because you didn’t have your dog under control.
Willow taught us so much and we still miss her. I now have games-based ideas she would have loved. I just wish I could go back and share them with her.
We had always promised ourselves that after Willow passed away we would do all the things we wanted to but couldn’t do because of a dog. Like visiting our friends in New Zealand.
We ticked a couple of minor things off our list in the UK. But we quickly realised that when you're a dog person doing things you can only do because you haven’t got a dog really aren’t worth doing!
So surprise, surprise, within a month a nine-month-old bundle of joy, Rosie, was welcomed into our home.
Although also a lurcher, she couldn’t have been more different to Willow. A long-legged bundle of fluffy fur with a huge heart that wanted to love everyone and everything.
She didn’t respond well to the traditional dog training classes. Then I discovered games-based training, which she loved. It was such a relief to learn the skills she needed in a fun way she enjoyed and that helped build our relationship.
Sadly, just a few months after she came to live with us she had an accident and broke her leg. Eventually having to have it amputated.
We started a whole new journey of living life with a tripod. Adapting and ensuring she is able to live her best life by learning a whole new set of skills needed to support her.
When Gracie joined our family, Bath Cats and Dogs Home were fantastic matching Rosie and Gracie to make sure their personalities were compatible.
Gracie was so anxious when she first came to live with us, but I had an idea on how I could help her learn the skills she needed to gain confidence. I was so impressed with games-based training that during Covid I trained to be a ProDogTrainer.
I loved the training I received from AbsoluteDogs. So much so that I’ve gone on beyond the basic training needed to be a dog trainer and completed their ‘Geek’ and ‘Genius’ courses too.
This enables me to help owners with separation anxiety, dog/dog and dog/human reactivity, resource guarding, multi-dog households, noise reactivity, dogs who swallow inappropriate items and much more!
I am a member of the Absolute Dogs ProDogTrainer Club. This ensures my training is constantly topped up and gives me access to a worldwide network of experienced trainers.
This means if your struggle is one I’ve not come across before, I have a network of trainers who can help and who will be able to suggest ideas for solutions based on their experience.