Jan Fennell - A Dog’s Best Friend - The Secrets that Make Good Dog Owners Great

In some ways theirs is a sad story. Even now, years later, and armed with much more experience and knowledge, I honestly don’t think there would have been an alternative solution to Guinness’ problems. He was such a powerful dog, the signals required to get the message through to him had to be powerful and unequivocal too. He needed to be managed very carefully.

Yet, theirs is also an inspirational story, one that has stayed with me over the years. In really difficult circumstances, Terry and Sandra did something of which they could be very proud. They had wanted something else from their dog, but they’d accepted the reality – it wasn’t possible. Rather than abandoning him, they’d been big enough and brave enough to accept these limitations and build their life with him on that basis. I’m sure they both learned something in doing so. It certainly taught me something priceless.

When I first ventured out into the world with my ideas about how to improve our relationship with dogs, my greatest concern was that I was in a minority. I had been unsure whether many people shared my passionate feelings for dogs and anyone actually cared for them the same way. I had seen more than my share of bad owners. More worrying in a way, I knew there were many, many people to whom their dog was a minor priority, something to be enjoyed as long as it didn’t require too much effort or thought.

The method I had evolved was simple, yet it required a great deal of thought and hard work. Since I had begun working with owners, I had become assailed by doubts. Was I living in cloud cuckoo land? Would I find many owners willing to put in that graft and make the sacrifice sometimes necessary to make their relationship with their dog work? Terry and Sandra provided me with my answer. At a time when I needed to see it, they showed me that there were people in the world who were prepared to go as far as necessary, and to live within whatever limitations necessary to make their pet happy. It was a humbling – but also hugely encouraging – lesson. And I’m always grateful to them for having provided it.

The more I developed my ideas, the more I realised how important it is to project the right kind of leadership. Through studying wolves and working with my own dogs, I had learned that dogs don’t associate leadership with ranting and raving, bullying and dictating or even overt affection. Instead, natural leaders seemed to demonstrate calmness, consistency and decisiveness. As I developed these principles, I realised that I had seen them applied before by another inspiring owner.

Throughout my life I have met people whose ideas about our relationship with dogs have influenced me almost subliminally. I have not felt their full impact until long after the event.

Back in the 1970s, for instance, I had had no idea how important my friendship with the headmistress of our local primary school would become. It is only now, thirty years on, that I can fully appreciate the lesson Patsy and her German shepherd, Bracken, provided.

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