Hi folks, yours truly is back home after another dog listener expedition. This time a full-on course in Yverdon, Switzerland. Full-on because it was the first ever Dog Listener Foundation Course done in French, and I did it without a safety net!
There were a few slip-ups language wise (or paux-fas as an Aussie once put it...) but they found it charming rather than alarming. Not like the time I was in Montreal and instead of saying "mammals" I said "boobs".
It turns out that Swiss law says that dogs must be walked everyday, so for a split second there was a problem when I said that owners do not have to walk their dogs.
Thankfully, one of the skills that comes with experience is the ability to think outside the box.
I suggested that they practice Stop/Start Change Direction indoors, that way they can truthfully say that they walk the dog every day, as it transpires that the law is not specific about WHERE the dogs are to be walked. Ta-da!
This elegant solution went down very well with the students. Anne-Francoise - who contacted us in the first place to organise the course - got the best birthday present too. She got rid of her Guilt about walking the dog come rain or shine. Five minutes of SSCD indoors while it is raining outside is much more enjoyable (and drier too of course).
Unfortunately, this weekend's success does mean that I now have to start working on the translations for the Advanced Course. Have I created a rod for my own back? Cheers for now, Tony Knight
Don't tell anyone, but there I was with model and designer Gail Elliott and her husband - two high fashion designers, who know all kinds of a-list stars (AND Simon Le Bon!), and while I was adjusting the microphone I noticed a food stain on my T shirt! You can't buy class...
Anyway, back to the dog training.
Once you add patience and consistency, you actually find the results come quicker than if you rush things.
Ever noticed that the time you are in a hurry and you take a shower, is when the soap becomes extra slippery? Once you relax, things go much more smoothly.
That is the same for walking the dog to heel too. There are some people who say that the dog's nose must not go in front of he owner's knee, which results in not looking where you are going and constantly jerking the dog around. Not great or practical. When walking the dog, it can be slightly ahead, as long as the lead is relaxed. As Mum says, when the lead is smiling, you are Happy and in Control.
Here's to less dog barking and happier dog walking. Cheers. Tony Knight
I had better explain. I have just had a haircut. Not that unusual, and some would say after Movember that the less hair on me the better. But enough of that - I am still hurt by some of the less than flattering remarks...
I found a barber's shop here in Geelong called Tony's, so of course I went there. You have to be loyal to your name tribe. It turns out Tony is an elderly Italian gentleman, and his shop was like stepping back into 1940's Milan or something.
"Volare" was playing on the CD player, and there were old bottles of lotions and potions that would never make it through customs these days. In fact, the haircut is also from that era now. Note to self - buy haircream... I even had one eyebrow trimmed (why only the one I do not know but he had a cut throat razor so I wasn't going to ask too many questions).
Here's the point - while I was waiting my turn I was skimming through a gardening magazine. It was that or a gossip glamour rag that seemed out of place in a gent's barber.
Anyway, I spotted, in among the tips for getting the most out of your hibiscus, an advert for dog tranquillisers. It was saying that dogs can suffer from stress and that these drugs can help. They are even recommended by "the world's greatest dog training company" (their words). This same company I remember recommends shaking a can of stones at a dog while it is barking. One client who did this with no success was told that she had "put the wrong kind of stones in it"...
What annoys me is that the list of problems they said could be "cured" with drugs was almost all to do with separation anxiety in dogs - which is a common problem that is really easy to solve WITHOUT resorting to drugging the poor animal. In fact at least half of the symptoms are described in my FREE Separation Anxiety report available at www.stopdogseparationanxiety.com.
Of course, we know that the recent trend in diagnosing people with depression, and the subsequent dispensing of drugs, is the latest thing, and you can't help but wonder what motivate$ the$e companie$ to di$pen$e them (after over 10 years working in the health service I have an insight into the world of dispensing).
If your dog is showing signs of stress, it is because it cannot cope with the responsibility of looking after its family in a world it cannot comprehend. The solution? Change it's mind about who is the leader, and it can be done calmly, gently and without any gadgets, whether external or internal.
Rant over, now I have a sudden craving for pizza... Ciao, Antonio
Hi folks, forgive the "Bah Humbug" bit, but we're only just in October and I just saw an advert on TV for Christmas 2011.
I hasten to add that this is UK television and that not every country is as obsessed with this one day as the Brits seem to be, but it did remind me that in Britain the start of Autumn means the arrival of another annual event, which like Christmas is no longer confined to a mere 24 hours.
However, unlike Christmas which as the song goes 'tis the season to be merry', the next few months 'tis the season to be noisy'!
The 5th November is Guy Fawkes Night, where the British commemorate the failed assassination of the King and Parliament by Mr. Fawkes and his gang. These days, this means that for the next few months, people will be letting off fireworks every where, and in some cases every night.
This of course is a time that a lot of dog owners dread, especially if they have a dog scared of fireworks, as it means living with a nervous wreck for a while. If I were to give owners one piece of advice to help them immediately, it would be to RELAX and try not to react to your dogs behaviour.
Easier said than done I can appreciate, but if you try to reassure your frightened dog that there is no problem, you are actually raising your own adrenaline level. The dog senses this and thinks that there must be a problem.
So, if your dog is losing the plot, don't join in. Staying calm is the best way to get other panickers around you to quieten down.
For anyone out there who wants more excellent tips on how to stay cool and calm your dog Jan Fennell is offering her audio CD on Fear of Noise at a special reduced price until the end of the "fun".
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
As a Dog Listener , I'm really keen that we learn to appreciate our dogs for the animal they are, so I've made a 2 minute video about it below (you also get a glimpse of the beautiful Milford Sound in New Zealand).
Because, once we remember that a dog is a dog and not a human being, we can completely change our relationship with them in an instant.
One of the biggest revelations that owners have using the Dog Listener training method is that they do not have to put their dogs (or themselves) under so much pressure. I know I don't like to feel pressure myself, so it's good to relax and only do what feels natural and comfortable.
The day we start taking goldfish out of their bowls and put them on the floor for a "change of scenery" will be the day I'll have to reconsider my belief that we are like dogs and not the other way round... Although it seems that fish do like to exercise when out of water, what with all those sit-ups they do! Cheers - Tony Knight
Hi folks from a very windy Auckland. I am staying with my friend Kris and today I went to see her at the beach as she continued with her kite surf practice - and couldn't help but notice a Dog Listener lesson in it for us all.
She started practicing six months ago and has only just begun to stand on her board and get majestically swept along in control of her kite (most of the time anyway).
My job was to take photos of her, either to help her evaluate her progress or (as I suspect) so she can put the pictures on Facebook to show off.
Her teacher is a guy called Steve, who was good enough to give me a quick lesson. We started on dry land, with a much smaller kite. The first, most important thing to grasp is how to read the wind and move the kite in the right way to get more speed and to manoeuvre it correctly. It is surprising how such a small kite could virtually lift me off my feet as I took my first steps into the world of kite surfing, and I am happy to report that I stayed on my feet the whole time and there were relatively few fatalities of those around me...
Imagine what could have happened if, for my first lesson, Steve had rigged me up in the full equipment, complete with 12 metre kite, put me into the water and said “Good Luck”. Chances are it could have gone disastrously wrong. As it was, I felt good and that I wanted to try the next stage.
Later, we chatted about what I did for a job, and the subject of walking dogs came up. At first, Steve felt that dogs needed exercise in order to avoid getting fat. However, I made the comparison with how he teaches, and he instantly understood and agreed that it is far more effective to take it one stage at a time, making sure you are happy and in control, before you take the next step.
In fact, this step-by-step approach usually means the student makes quicker progress this way.
Does that sound familiar? Taking small steps with your own dog training can actually results in quicker progress and is actually more enjoyable. One day I will stop going on and on about this - and for those who say the day people realise they don’t have to walk their dogs and learn the controls is the day when Hell freezes over - they said that about New Orleans getting to the Superbowl… Go Saints!!
It is always interesting to read comments made by some other "experts" about training your dog using Dog Listener methods, and usually they fall into the same old argument. It is claimed that you cannot teach this method quickly and easily, and that a "one size fits all" system cannot work, although they never say why. This can also mean that as we introduce this method we can get criticised by those closest to us (friends and family are often the worst to put pressure on us).
The fact is that this process is simple because the priorities of the dog are simple - only humans are complicated (although we wouldn't be if we didn't know the next time we were to eat). Never forget that the big barrier that most people have is that they believe that dogs think like people, instead of realising that it works the other way round. Also, it is only natural for "experts" to attack this method as their reputations are under threat. An ego under threat will lash out to defend itself. The nastier the comments get, the more threatened they feel. The ego is also responsible for those people who believe this work needs to be complicated, in order to make themselves feel more important.
Keep true to what makes sense to you and remember that dogs are the easy bit; people are far more complicated...
We keep telling you how easy dog listener training can be... but rather than just say it, we wanted to prove it to you too, so we've chosen a video from my Dog Listener Training web site which uses two rather gorgeous participants to demonstrate a technique we call 'Stop, Start, Change Direction'.
I talk a lot about owners being Happy and In Control - especially when out for a walk. If we're vigilant we can probably stop a lot of potentially difficult situations from ever happening. Anyway, in this video I show you exactly how I use this to keep my own dogs safe.
Hope you enjoy the videos. If you want to leave any comments for me below, I'd be pleased to hear from you. Tony Knight
They say things happen for a reason..... well today on the way to giving a talk at Auckland SPCA (not Royal over here!) as I was driving along fellow Dog Listener Sue spotted a dog wandering in and out of the heavy traffic at a major intersection.
"We can't just leave it there" was quickly followed by a U-turn. Like the man of action I am (the previous night saw me crowd surfing at an Iron Maiden concert - ROCK!) I jumped out of the car as Sue found somewhere to park. Luckily the dog hadn't gone too far and was heading in my direction and as I knelt down and called it to me it came bounding up and virtually leapt into my arms.
It turns out that Swiss law says that dogs must be walked everyday, so for a split second there was a problem when I said that owners do not have to walk their dogs. 
