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

The secrets that make gooddog owners great

Harper

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Entertainment 2004

Copyright © Jan Fennell and Fantasma Partnership 2004

The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN 9780007153725

Ebook Edition © APRIL 2019 ISBN: 9780008363437

Version: 2019-05-13

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780007153725

For my grandchildren

Ceri-Ann, Bethan and Ben

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

Preface by Monty Roberts

Introduction

‘How Would You Feel?’

Why great owners put themselves in their dog’s place

The Ties That Bind

Why great owners understand man’s special relationship with dogs

‘What’s in it for Me?’

Why great owners work with, not against, their dogs

Our Mutual Friends

Why respect is the key to a great relationship with dogs

Feeling the Force

The importance of drawing on the lessons of others

Living in the Real World

Why great owners know their limits

Role Models

Why great owners lead by example

Second Among Equals

Why great owners always put their dogs first

Flexible Friends

Why great owners keep an open mind

When the Going Gets Tough

Why it pays to show courage under fire

The Great Healer

Why patience really is a virtue

A Dog is for Life

Why great owners understand the meaning of responsibility

99% Preparation

Why great owners think ahead

The Buck Stops Here

Why great owners always shoulder the blame

Happy Families

Why great owners are fun owners

Cometh the Hour

Why great owners rise to the occasion

The Best Dog Comes Home with Us

The importance of owning dogs for the right reasons

Better Happy than Rich

Why great owners understand the real value of dogs

Give a Dog a Good Name

Why great owners don’t pigeonhole their dogs

The Glass Half Full

Why great owners are positive owners

Sense and Sensibility

Why great owners never underestimate their dogs’ instincts

Separate Worlds

Why great owners accept that dogs are different

Letting Go

The importance of knowing when to say goodbye

In Sickness and in Health

When their dogs grow weak, great owners grow strong

Through Thick and Thin

How great owners show strength for their dog’s sake

Reaping the Rewards

Why you only get out what you put in

Breathing Space

The benefits of letting a dog be itself

A Dog’s Best Friend

Why great owners just want to give their dogs the best

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

I can’t remember a time in my life when there wasn’t a dog around and somebody trying to train him to do something. For 65 years or so, I have seen professional dog trainers work, watched amateur dog trainers work and observed as Western rancher-type people as they dealt with their canine assistants. I have seen dogs treated with profound brutality and have witnessed partnerships between dog and human that were as close as one could imagine.

In the early 1950’s, I became acquainted with a man who produced contract dog acts as a part of professional rodeos that were conducted throughout the United States. His name was Jay Sisler and he usually had a gang of border collies with one or two retired racing greyhounds thrown in. I recall that he had a few Australian Shepherds and sometimes an Aussie crossed with a border collie.

Jay Sisler loved his dogs and, probably more importantly, his dogs loved him. I recall times when he would work with a half a dozen dogs or so in one session. I would watch as each dog sat with eyes sparkling and feet prancing in place begging for the opportunity to be the next actor on his stage. Jay specialized in offbeat acts where dogs did things that people just didn’t expect to see.

I remember one night in 1955 when Mr. Sisler turned up at a popular old pub-style restaurant near my university. The proprietor knew about Jay and so allowed him to bring two dogs into the saloon portion of the building. I sat and watched as this man sipped a drink at the bar and then would simply say things in a normal tone of voice that he wanted the dogs to do, and, boy, did they do it!

Watching in utter amazement, I saw these dogs interact with one another and with patrons of the establishment. ‘Blue, go to sleep.’ he would say, and Blue would flatten himself in the middle of the saloon. ‘Freddy, take my jacket and cover Blue up. It’s going to get cold.’ And Freddy would do just that. ‘Now, Freddy, find me a pretty girl. Lead her over to have a drink with me.’ And this dog would circle the room and for all the world it seemed to me that he would pick the most attractive female, gently take her hand in his mouth and lead her to Jay’s side.

They walked tight ropes, sat up on one another’s shoulders, the same as trapeze artists would do. They danced and sang, rode horses, and one would even lead a donkey wherever Jay asked him to go. Sisler loved to create a situation where the Sheppard types would form obstacles over which the greyhound would jump, and those greyhounds could jump the moon. People were consistently left mesmerized by the awesome feats that Jay’s dogs could perform.

For me, it was far more how they did it than what they did. I never saw him strike a dog and I never even heard him raise his voice to one. I don’t know how he did his basic training but looking back on it with two doctorates in behavioural sciences I know how to assess that these dogs did it because they wanted to and because they loved to work with and for this man.

When my book The Dog Listener was first published, I had no idea it would connect with such a wide audience. It is a source of constant pride to me that so many people have turned to the compassionate communication method advocated in its pages. By rejecting the aggressive and damaging ideas of the past, they have displayed the open-mindedness and, I like to think, intelligence that instantly separates the good owner from the bad one. They have made an important first step.