Dog listening was developed by Jan Fennell as a way of teaching dog owners how to live in harmony with their canine companion. According to Jan “rather than trying to fit human psychology to dogs and animals the starting point is observing how animals communicate, how they structure their group in the wild and what they think their role is in that group”.
Pack Leader
Most dog owners will at some stage use the services of a Dog Trainer. Traditional dog training has seen many changes over the years and most recently The Dog Whisperer, Caesar Milan has introduced dog owners to a new idea, The Pack Leader. Jan Fennell started out with the seeds of an idea having seen the renowned horse whisperer Monty Roberts work his magic with compassionate treatment for horses. Jan was convinced that a similar method could be used by dog owners to improve their dog’s behaviour taking into consideration the dog’s natural instincts as a pack animal. She went back to basics and began studying the wolf pack, as it’s from the wolf that our domestic dog is descended. In the wolf pack there is a distinct leadership role played by the alpha, the pack leader. Your dog will consider itself part of a pack within your family and will consider everyone else in the family as pack members. The most important question your dog wants an answer to is, who is pack leader, who is making the decisions about our pack, and the answer has to be you.
Dog Training
There has been a huge increase in the sales of restraints and methods of controlling our dogs in recent years and the pet industry are the only ones benefiting. They do not address the underlying problem. If you have to use restraining devices to walk your dog you may gain momentary control but your dog will not have changed its behaviour and more importantly doesn’t know why he should. Dog Listening is a holistic approach to living and working with your dog. We use no force, pain or devices. What we want is our dog making the correct choices of its own free will. Because you are putting into place a set number of subtle changes you will find that the unwanted behaviour becomes less of an issue for the moment while you rebuild your relationship with your dog. With dog listening you will use the dogs natural instincts to work for survival of the pack and by removing him from the role of leader he will become a happier, more relaxed and responsive pet.
Dog Listening
Dog listening works by teaching you how to establish leadership of your dog with a clear calm and consistent approach. Because the method is a way of living with your dog it becomes second nature to reinforce the positive messages every day with your dog. It is a technique you will have for life. It works around proven methods of reinforcing structure and will work to avoid behavioural problems before they begin with a puppy, or to change undesirable behaviour in the more mature dog. I use this method with all breeds, all ages, and all personalities and it works.
The rewards are a happy dog and an owner who knows they have the tools to deal with their dog no matter what breed, age or problem they are facing.