I had an unusual gap in my schedule yesterday and decided to do something with it. For ages I had been wondering how many dogs I had worked with over the past 30 years. I knew the information was there… somewhere. I just didn’t know where.
I would like to say I eventually found it but I’m not that organised. In the end I settled on around 2,000. Not satisfied with just that statistic, I set out to see how many of those had been male handlers. The answer was around 20 per cent. So… what caused that differential?
My guess is dog training can be a very humbling experience when the dog that performed so well last week behaves like a maniac this week. For whatever reason, men do not like that at all and are far more likely to quit, whereas the ladies seem to persevere for much longer.
I remember one proud male owner whose dog outperformed every dog in class for weeks until he ‘found his feet’ and decided to go self-employed, charging around like he had never had any training in his life. The embarrassment to his owner was too much and he never came back to class again despite our encouragement.
In contrast, a lady in her late seventies had suddenly lost her husband and her Jack Russell decided he was taking over the house. This was okay until the dog started ‘nipping’ her whenever he wanted to have his own way. The cuts and scratches all over her arms told me something needed to be done.
The lady was very upset about the sudden change and asked me to explain. “It’s quite simple,” I told her. The dog accepted her husband as leader; when he died, your dog took the opportunity to take over. “Is that it?” this tough little lady asked. “He thinks I am a pushover, does he?” I nodded. “Well, he’s in for a big surprise.”
The following week Jack’s behaviour was much improved and from thereon things became a lot easier for both of them.
The last time I saw them, Jack was following her around the park, trotting along happily in his new lead. This tough little lady was not prepared to have a dog dictating her life and Jack soon fell into the new routine. And her scratches and nipping disappeared very quickly.
You can text Vic direct on 075905 60012 or visit his website, https://www.vicbarlow.com/
For the past 32 years Vic has trained dogs of all shapes, breeds and sizes. More than 4,500 have passed through his training academy, and he says working with them has been a privilege and they have taught him as much as he taught them.
Vic says: "After all this time communicating directly with dogs I can honestly say I have never met a dog I could not help. Owners, however are a little more difficult and need to learn how dogs really communicate. It means getting into the mind of the dog and really understanding. That insight will open a new world to you." Follow him on Facebook for daily last-minute class updates: https://www.facebook.com/vic.barlow
