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"I just wanted to say how grateful I am that you have taken two of our Every Chance Rescue dogs into your home and given them the love, guidance and understanding that you have.
They have blossomed so well under your care and you are a very knowledgeable dog Listener and it is a pleasure to work with you..
I hope other people will put their trust in you and you are able to guide them through the process so that they too can have happy and stress free dogs."
Gill Tuxworth, Associate Amichien Dog Listener, Director of Every Chance Rescue Ltd (non-profit)
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| The 'Very Nice Dogs' Pack |
These are the dogs that I have had in my life in the last few
years. I hope that you will enjoy getting to know them a bit. You will see that
two of them are fostered for Every Chance Rescue
Amichien® Bonding is helping me to provide the answers they need to their life’s
questions, so that they can be happy and relaxed. You may wonder how I manage to
cope with all these dogs and the problems they have. It is because of the
support network we have as dog listeners. One of the Every Chance Rescue
directors, Gill Tuxworth, has very generously given her time and experience.
This is the same kind of support that is available to anyone who has a
consultation with a Jan Fennell Dog Listener.
Read on to find out how. |
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I grew up on a farm in Canada. I’ve always had dogs. My dad was happy with this
because as long as he could see the dog he knew where I was! The dogs just lived
with us, no special training, no walks because they could roam on the farm with
me.
When I moved away for education and early jobs I was living in cities and for a
few years did not have a dog. Then a lost stray showed up and my life with dogs
began again. By now I was in England. So I got into the routine. Generally we bumbled along with the regular issues
that seemed to be related to dog behaviour – running away, not always coming
when called, barking if left alone But it didn’t happen very often so it didn’t
stimulate me to really consider what was going on.
I heard about Monty Roberts, the man who listens to horses. His non-violent way
of working with horses that caused the horse to want to be with him. I wondered
how you could communicate with dogs in a non-violent way. However, I did nothing
about it because my dog seemed reasonably compliant. He didn’t have any
antisocial issues. It didn’t occur to me that I might be putting him under the
stress of leadership. . . tell me more
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Buddy began to suffer with more and
more health problems and so he has now been put to sleep. There is a big hole in
the pack.
He had been with me since 1997. He was a multi-pedigree from a rescue centre. He
had not managed to fit into several homes and kept getting returned to rescue
centres. I could see the character underneath all his undesirable behaviours (he
demonstrated almost all of the problems you can think of to some degree). I
thought I could help him. I did what I had always done – teach to sit, stay,
walk with me, fed him, gave him a home and loved him but it wasn’t working, He
soon made it clear he was thinking of me as ‘home’ it was just in his own time…
He would go for his own walks, not come when I called him, in fact, he would go
faster in the other direction; he just came to check I was OK and off he would
go again. He would chase anything that moved including going out to sea after
seals and once getting into a pheasant enclosure. When I got angry or
distressed, he understood it as needing to try harder and so the cycle
continued. So it was Buddy and all these problems that made me search out
alternative ways. I found out about Amichien Bonding and the work of Jan
Fennell. . . tell me more
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Sadly, Sally died 9 December 2008 and here is her story.
She helped me to learn my first steps in listening.
Sally was in charge of the other dogs. Well, at least she was in charge of the setters. I knew Sally all her life. She lived with a friend of mine until they moved; their new house was on a busy road so they asked me to look after her until they got sorted. Sally never returned.
Buddy and Sally became good friends and hunted together. They made a good team - spaniel nose and Buddy’s speed. Like Buddy she was always checking who was leader but she decided that I am pretty convincing. . . tell me more
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Jimmy and Charlie are brothers.
The life style of their previous owners meant that they were unable to continue to look after them so they came to live with me in January 2007..
They are best friends, they can flop down on each other and often sleep together all tangled up with no complaints from either brother.
When I first met them I would have described them as depressed, very subdued indoors, ears hanging low and the younger brother, Jimmy, was so anxious he hardly left Charlie’s side. Charlie came with a history of severe epilepsy.
Both had been urinating and defecating indoors. Charlie would escape whenever he had an opportunity. When they were taken out they pulled on the lead and had no manners at all. . . tell me more
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Ellie came to me in October 2007 at the age of 4 years. I am her third home. She was attacking other dogs and if a person tried to intervene, that person got bitten as well. I would describe her as trying to protect all the time. She would see other dogs not in her pack as a potential threat to the survival of her own group so she would attempt to scare them off and if that didn’t work she would attack. It is risky to attack, it risks your own life as well. It shows how seriously she was taking her role as leader and how much of a panic she was in. She was constantly patrolling the garden perimeters. Indoors always looking out of the window ready to bark at anything coming near her territory. Her eyes were wide and staring, she would startle easily. Ellie and Buddy took a great dislike to each other and for 5 months I had to keep them apart. In the early days I had to have 2 doors between them. If they saw each other it would result in barking and rushing at the door. Ellie did not like Bobbie either so they also had to be kept separate.
It was a difficult few months! I made a decision that all needed to experience some peace and quiet to allow each one to become less stressed and anxious. Ellie needed to know, as they all did, that they do not need to take responsibility for the pack. That is my responsibility.
I used doors, pet gates and cages to facilitate this indoors and for a time Ellie was taken into the garden on lead to do her ‘business’, so that she didn’t revert to her “looking for danger” behaviour. . . tell me more
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Bobbie came to me at 6 months old having already learned to bite people and other dogs. The owner was a friend. I had always offered to help if needed. Finally I was asked to take her because of her behaviour. That was 5 days after Ellie arrived! The timing was not ideal but both of these dogs were in desperate need.
She was an extremely stressed dog! She was constantly barking, biting and when she was awake she was on the move. So I had to keep her space small to allow her to rest. Any stimulus sent her into hyperactivity. She was very aggressive around food. She needed a lot of peace. If you think of a person who is very stressed we help them by asking very little of them and give them time to renew their energy.
The setters were good for her and they are such gentle dogs. I would gradually expose her to stimulation and allow her to experience life with me without much interaction. She began to quieten and so I could build on her experiences from that point.
After 3 months Ellie and Bobbie could play together. They are friends and enjoy chasing and playing with each other. Although it was very hard work for a few months it has been good for them to have each other. . . tell me more
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Amber, (we find ourselves calling her Annie), came to us in September 2010. She is about 7 years old. We are fostering her for our dog listeners rescue, “Every Chance Rescue’. This was set up to give dogs that are not helped by other processes every chance of having a happy relaxed life. She has been in several homes who could not cope with her repertoire of tricks. She was reported to be showing severe anxiety, becoming shut down and near a nervous breakdown so we agreed to give her a home. We knew we could help.
Amber does tend to be very anxious and can lean toward shutting down. She shows her anxiety by trying to bury herself under a cover. She can be very frantic about it. It almost appears to be an obsessive, compulsive disorder. She was unaware of the personal space of those around her. Personal space is like an invisible bubble that surrounds us. If other beings move inside this bubble, it may make you feel uncomfortable. It is the same for dogs. She behaved as if there were no other dogs around and would barge into the other dogs space. She also does a kind of star gaze when she is anxious. She very quickly would show her belly which is the dogs way of saying ‘I’m no threat. Please don’t hurt me’. We were very aware of her energy. At greeting time she likes to get a ‘trophy’. I expect this action would usually get a response from her people. We just leave her alone. She does not damage the trophy and she is in no danger. . . tell me more
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Oscar is 2 a year old handsome black and white Springer Spaniel. We are fostering him for Every Chance Rescue. He was taken into Every Chance when he was only 11 months old. He was already over whelmed by the responsibility he felt and was biting. He had been adopted but the placement was not successful because the people he spent time with didn’t have the immaculate doggy manners he expected - he bit and they wanted him to go - they loved him but didn’t understand him.
A subsequent foster home had similar problems. So he came to live with us on 7 October 2010. He is a challenging little fellow. He appears to be laid back and unconcerned about the people around him. He doesn’t bounce around with manic energy trying to get attention. He doesn’t curl his lip or growl if he is unhappy with anything. But if you don’t have immaculate doggy manners he shows his displeasure by biting.
The day he came to stay we introduced him carefully to everyone either individually or in small groups. It went well with everyone although with Ellie it took 1 1/2 hours. We were on neutral ground. At first we kept them a distance apart where they were unconcerned with each other. We gradually moved closer by coming closer then moving apart until they were able to be near enough to say a friendly hello. We then walked home. . . tell me more
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