Hi folks, yours truly back from a quick jaunt down to the Mediterranean with friends and the dogs.
Holiday season is in full swing over here and the place was packed with tourists, many bringing their pooches with them.
As we walked up and down the shopping arcade so the girls could look at Tackarama (an Aussie expression which I love) I noticed not only the reaction of other dogs to my two, but also theirs to this brand new place packed with strangers and other dogs.
I couldn't figure out the pattern to how Kez and Pru reacted - either quiet and an air of "Please God don't hurt me" or occasionally a Travis Bickle "You talking to me?" bristling.
Did big dogs do it? Black dogs? One dog on it's own? None of these fitted the profile. I used to think that Kez got brave when he saw a smaller dog, a tactic which backfired on him once when he courageously barked at a little dog, only for him to discover to his horror that it was in fact a Newfoundland that was far away. He turned tail and ran behind me, looking out at the monster from between my legs. It was a proud moment for us both...
Anyway, the point of this blog was that as a dog listener I fortunately knew the right answer to the situation, which was it did not matter how the dogs reacted, rather how I reacted that was important.
In fact, that's the key to walking dogs wherever you are, holiday or not.
If a dog looks to its leader for reassurance and the leader is calm, then all is well. If the owner makes a fuss, then even if the dog does believe in the human's leadership, it will think there is a problem.
So I made nothing of it... and bought a beautiful painted shell ashtray... which makes no sense as I don't smoke. But when in Rome... Cheers, Tony Knight
Hi, from an over-heated dog listener! Yours truly here currently sweltering in the most humid conditions I have ever known in France.
The last few evenings have been spent with the windows wide open and Kez doing his best impression of a steam train, puffing out his cheeks as he tries to keep cool.
I have tried to help by spraying him with water but he just looked at me like I was trying to kill him (mind you he always has that face, bless him).
If I am feeling the heat, how must the dogs be coping, as they refuse to take off their fur coats (well, not all in one go anyway - the tumbleweeds of dead hair that keeps making an appearance around the house are testimony to that).
I was out and about yesterday in the nearly 40 degree heat, when I saw an old lady struggling to make it down the road under the oppressive sun.
What made it worse was the sight of her poor pooch panting alongside her. Now as a dog listener, I always like to liberate people from the mistaken belief that they have to walk their dogs when it is raining, as the walk is not important to a dog (to find out what is, check out my coaching programme at http://www.dog-listener.com).
In this case, if a dog owner is liking the idea of taking the dog for a walk in the blazing sunshine, I will quote Alec Guinness in Star Wars... "Trust your feelings" (does that mean I owe George Lucas a pound now?).
So, in short, avoid hot dogs... and I don't just mean the canine type (did you see that TV show about what goes into them? Thanks Jamie Oliver!)
Glossing over the fact that some footballers will be flying to England from South Africa, and probably not to a good reception. Here's the latest progress of a Dog Listener's story of a far happier flight from South Africa to England.
For those of you who remember the story of Cerberus, the rescue dog that was on Death Row and not only was saved, but flown to freedom with his new owner Sam, above is the latest film to show his progress.
Even though as a dog listener I've been helping people and dogs all over the world for over a decade now, it's still a great thrill to see this kind of thing happening.
WARNING! As usual with a video from Sam there may be some tear-inducing moments, so have some tissues handy.
Hi folks, if you're like me you cannot help but notice the huge amount of dogs all around, wearing body harnesses of various complexity, and all pulling like crazy!
I recently saw the bizarre sight of two Yorkshire terriers dragging their poor owner down the street, and I am willing to bet a substantial amount of money that the owner bought the harness to stop the dog pulling in the first place!!!
Here's where the problem lies - and it is not rocket science. Imagine that you have a heavy load to pull... where would you want the load attached to you? Around your shoulders? We even use the expression "to put your shoulder into it" to mean give it some extra force.
If a dog can pull, wearing a harness only makes it easier for them to do so - the exact opposite effect for which body harnesses are produced and bought. The result is potential severe injuries for both dog and owner. It makes no sense, does it?
If you want to stop your dog from pulling, you need to do so by demonstrating decision making capabilities, using a lead that limits injuries, rather than increases the risk.
As Dog Listeners we've been looking for the answer and the Jan Fennell Amichien Honesty Lead is the result. It is the safe, pain-free and easiest way to successfully stop your dog from pulling.
More info on that coming soon...Trust me, the solution is not rocket science. Cheers, Tony Knight.
As a Dog Listener I'm always amused to see the pack animal in us on full display.
Just landed in England and while driving up to Sunny Scunny (check out that song on www.myspace.com/tripitakaboys) I was greeted with a plethora of St.George flags fluttering from hundreds of cars.
One house a few miles from Mum's (Jan Fennell) place is completely covered in one enormous England flag. Anyone would think there was a World Cup going on...
I always like to remind people that we share pack traits with wolves, and this is no exception.
An even better example happened on my recent trip to Sweden for a Dog Listener Event. I came out of a restaurant in Stockholm with Jenny, an ex-pat living there with her Swedish boyfriend.
Out of the blue two guys approached us and asked if we were English and where we were from. We barely had a chance to say anything before we were told that they were from Manchester, over in Stockholm for a try-out with a local football team.
"It's good to hear English," one said. I pointed out that everybody spoke English there. "Yeah, but it's not ENGLISH, you know what I mean?" came the reply. We wished them well with the try-outs and went on our way.
We discussed what had just happened, and realised that these footballers had felt drawn to our accents, feeling more comfortable in a strange place. A pack animal believes in safety in numbers...
So, as the countdown to kick-off fast approaches, here is my favourite England football song. It says it all... Come On England (right up to the quarter finals...)!! Yours truly, Tony Knight
Hi folks, your dog listener here with the thought for the week... but to be honest it has been brewing in me for a while (so to speak).
While in Copenhagen teaching one of the Jan Fennell Foundation Courses, one of the students told me of her experiences as a massage therapist for dogs.
She told me that she had treated an awful lot of dogs with muscle strains caused by pulling excessively on the lead. This included many of them with injuries sustained with a body harness or halti put on them.
This reminded me of a dog event I was invited to appear at in Kent last year, where I saw hundreds of dog owners, all being dragged along by dogs wearing body harnesses and the like.
Now the manufacturers of these gadgets claim that they stop dogs from pulling, but quite evidently from what I saw (and my student has treated) that the only thing that is different from a lead that goes around the neck and one that goes around the body is the area of stress and, in a lot of cases, injury. That is if the owner does not know how to get a hang of the controls...
Dog Listeners have for years made a point of instructing dog owners on how to be happy and in control while walking the dog, and I am excited to announce that we have now developed a revolutionary concept to bring dogs to heel and take away all of the pain of aching muscles and joints (I am including owners in this too!)
Look out for an announcement in the coming week as we unveil our latest and most impressive aid to getting the dog you always wanted.
In the meantime, click below for a short informational film demonstrating one of the problems that the Dog Listener approach can successfully deal with. Hang on!! Best wishes, Tony
Hi folks, your Dog Listener here, keeping with the topical theme of the recent political activity in Britain (PLEASE don't go just yet!).
Honest, it links in very nicely with an experience in Yellowstone Park while studying the wolves.
On one day out in the park, we were lucky to see what looked at first like two separate packs of three wolves meet over some food.
At first it looked like there would be a confrontation, but what actually happened was much more interesting. The two groups formed one bigger pack almost immediately.
One of the experienced wolf watchers (there are some folk who will go out every day, no matter what the weather - that's love...) informed us that the two groups once belonged to the same pack, but split 6 months previously, and this was the first time they had met up again.
It seems they had decided to put any differences aside for the moment in order to give themselves a better chance.
This can happen in Nature with wolves; temporary coalitions (do you see where I am going with this??) are formed when needs must, and it is for the benefit of the groups involved.
These alliances are not forever, as there may come a point where the differences outweigh the benefits.
Soooooo, in a nutshell, it is no surprise that humans too can form temporary coalitions if it means the greater cause is served.
For example... if a Chelsea player scored the winning goal for England in the World Cup final, I think I would rather that happened than seeing us lose.
Oh, and maybe Mr. Cameron and Mr. Clegg may get along well enough too (getting my priorities in the right order as you can see...).
So getting back to my point - It's yet another way that humans act like wolves.
Hi folks, it's amazing how just 5 days without Internet contact leads people to believe you've disappeared off the face of the Earth! In fact, I have just finished teaching a Dog Listener Foundation course in Holland, with the largest number of students so far. A fantastic response and it looks like Dog Listening is going from strength to strength in that part of the world.
One of the current members of Team Holland (as I dubbed them 2 years ago) has adopted a wolf at a zoo, and on my free day I accompanied her and other members of Team Holland to see the resident pack of four brothers.
The enclosure is a decent size, and they share it with several bears.
Of course, the closeness to each other does lead to a pressure cooker effect, where interaction between them is more frequent and closer than would normally be the case, but it was amazing to watch how they were around each other.
Most of the time there was no problem, but one bear - described by our guide as the "pain in the ass mother" (I love how the Dutch speak English) - insisted on making a point, to which the wolves reacted.
Imagine my horror when I started filming, only to quickly realise that my camcorder had run out of battery. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!
Fortunately another member of TH let me use her camera, and I did manage to get some great video footage.
Click on the link to see a great sequence. Those who believe that "wild" means out of control, check out how these "wild" animals sort out their differences...
Cheers, Tony
P.S. The sounds of children are coming from a play area located right in the middle of the enclosure. At least I hope it was a play area, and not a larder!
Hi folks, I am happy (and relieved) to be in one piece after my first ever skiing lesson, a birthday present from Jan Fennell (Mother).
It is also going to be interesting to discover muscles I never knew I had in the morning when they seize up.
The day served as a reminder that I may have been practicing Dog Listening for a long time now, but I must always be aware that for some people, it may be completely new to them, and they may need time to get the hang of it.
As I wobbled down the slopes, my instructor James showed admirable patience throughout the day, and I'm sure he finally let me onto the big slope because he was confident in my ability.
In fact he filmed me as I slowly made my way down the very steep slope.
It took time to make my way down, while little kids inevitably whizzed past me. But it didn't put me off too much.
James told me what I needed to do to be happy and in control was practice... where have I heard that before?
Anyway, I think I will get back on the Piste again soon, and I have a renewed sense of patience and respect for people who may be making small steps in doing the Amichien Bonding process.
A good and patient teacher makes the experience enjoyable and gives confidence to carry on. Lesson learnt... check out the clip below for my next lesson - apparently.
Cheers for now, Tony Knight
PS Now I come to think about it, as I flew past James I thought I heard him mention You've Been Framed...
Maybe you will have heard the excellent news that electric shock collars are to be banned in Wales (the Welsh are always ahead of the rest of us these days – maybe it’s because Cardiff is where the rift in time and space is (Dr. Who fans know what I mean).
I did wonder if the decision had anything to do with a stunt performed by the Welsh daredevils/lunatics from the TV show Dirty Sanchez (no I will NOT explain what that means) where they played extreme pool while wearing shock collars. Whenever one of them missed a shot, he got a shock.
I have looked for the clip but no luck, however in close second is a demonstration of the different levels of shock that a collar can deliver. The guinea pig is a guy from across the Pond.
Of course there are still those who claim that shock collars are a valuable dog training aid. I ask them simply to follow this guy’s lead, then make up their minds.
The answer of course is to use a kind, patient way of dog training that also – more importantly – shows the dog it does not have to take on the job of protector, let alone be punished with pain for doing its job to the best of its ability. So well done to Wales. Tidy…
Cheers, Tony
P.S. The clip you can click onto on the film about a lazy, angry dog is a clear example of why we should call dogs to us, not approach them. Some people just don’t listen to their dogs…. Sigh
Hi folks, yours truly back from a quick jaunt down to the Mediterranean with friends and the dogs. 
