May 4th 2021 – official start day of D4Dog. What a 12 months it has been. From a straightforward dog walking service to developing a full blown training and behaviour support service.
The range of dogs we have worked with ranges from a Miniature Pinscher weighing a few pounds to a young St Bernard weighing around 11 stone! From an English Bulldog to a Doberman/Greyhound cross. It has been our privilege to watch the growth and development of dogs from puppies to full blown adults, doubling, even tripling in size over the past year.
We have started to organise regular Big Dog Walks in the TQ12 area, to allow large and giant breed dogs (and their owners) to interact, socialise and generally run about and have fun with dogs of a similar size. Watching one dog run around and interact with other dogs off lead, left its owners in tears, as it was the first time they had been able to let her play with other dogs, since they rescued her. We’ve also used the BDWs as fund raisers for dog related charities, including Animals in Distress at Ipplepen and Four Paws, who are working to help pets and their owners in the Ukraine following the Russian invasion and subsequent war. It’s only a few hundred pounds so far, but it is a start. The next one will be towards the end of May 2022.
Coming from an education background, one of the benefits of this career change has been the opportunity to learn new things, whether that is an intense one day course to qualify as a Canine First Aider, attending Webinars on subjects as diverse as Breed-Predatory Motor Patterns and Adolescence in dogs. Or the reading to underpin the IMDTB qualifications I’m currently studying.
One of the undoubted highlight of the year was being invited to deliver a session with teaching and support staff at my old school in Totnes, where they have introduced therapy dogs, to support and encourage students in their education.
This session and observations during dog training sessions, involving socialisation and desensitisation in public settings such as coffee shops, shops, pubs and town centres, has inspired the next exciting development of D4dog – D4dog awareness! This is a service which aims to provide training for the staff who are employed in ‘Dog friendly’ settings, such as hospitality, retail, attractions and tourism.
Observing staff who were obviously very fond of dogs, interacting with customers and their dogs, illustrated how badly we humans interact and communicate with dogs and how little we understand of what dogs are trying to tell us. Most dogs are remarkable tolerant of human rudeness and ignorance, but there are all too many horror stories of dogs biting with no warning – when the signals are plain to see if you know what to look for!
We might be dog friendly, but we may not be very dog aware! That is something ‘D4dog Awareness’ aims to resolve, one dog friendly business at a time!
So one year on, I can safely say that setting up D4dog has been one the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve always loved dogs, as a long time dog owner that’s hardly a shock, but what I’ve realised is that helping dogs and their owners is every bit as rewarding and enjoyable as being with my own dogs. That has been a surprise. I suppose there is a strong link to my career in education, seeing students progress through a lesson, or a subject, moving on to University or employment was always the driving motivation for me as a Teacher and as a Leader of 14-19 and Post 16 education.
Helping a dog develop and grow, from a nervous, scared, lunging, reactive and unpredictable state, to being calm, sociable, relaxed and confident is something really quite special.
In a previous blog I wrote about Bear, a Greek Shepherd Dog, rescued and re-homed in the UK. He continues to be a work in progress, but is continuing along the right pathway. In the second blog I’m publishing this week, I’m going to outline a case study of Baloo the St Bernard.
D4Dog Walking, Training and Behaviour Support -Newton Abbot & TQ12 