I have always shared a love and passion for animals, growing up with dogs, horses, rabbits and guinea pigs around me.
One of the biggest influences on me was rehoming our beautiful labrador Frank in 2016. Frank had a heart of gold, and we knew from the moment we met him that he had found his forever home with us.
If only that was the whole story…
A Crashing Start
Within six weeks of bringing him home, he had spotted a cat in the garden and smashed straight through double-glazed patio doors. Our vets still share this story, as he escaped with just minor cuts and probably a bit of a headache!
This wasn’t an isolated event. He snapped a thick lead on a walk as he lunged to chase a deer and ran off in the dark. Walks in the park were more like a Benny Hill sketch as his recall was intermittent, often with me in hot pursuit to remove whatever food delight he was scavenging. Any food left anywhere at home was fair game and it was like watching a game of Hungry Hippos as it would be devoured in seconds, not a crumb left in sight.
Frank was scared of objects like vacuum cleaners – the first time I used it, he jumped away at rocket speed and ran along the top of the sofa to escape. He equally disliked hairdryers and lawnmowers. Aerosols would send him running and this gentle giant clearly had issues underneath his heart of gold.
I knew I needed some help and joined an online (Dom Hodgson’s) dog training group. Here we learnt patience and how to make things fun for you and your dog. Recall improved greatly, and having your chasing dog screech to a halt, as you call them away from a deer still blows my mind! We helped him to move from a position of fear around the vacuum, to needing to be moved out of the way of it!
Discovering TTouch
It was in this group that I was introduced to a way of working with animals called TTouch. This would prove to be transformational for not only Frank, but many more animals I have come to work with.
I began trying these techniques and saw such differences with the behaviour in the animals I worked with. For example, after an ear infection, Frank understandably did not want his ears touched. We gently worked with him until he was comfortable with this. A small thing, but a massive difference. Rather than a battle to get the drops in, we could work with him in a calm and relaxed state. Better for him, and definitely better for us.
A New Path
Then, by 2021, Covid had provided the opportunity to follow my passion full-time. I did a horse training course with the founder of TTouch, Linda Tellington-Jones. This only confirmed things for me—I just had to work with animals. I continued to train full-time working with a wide variety of animals until I qualified as a TTouch Practitioner in 2024.
Even now, as a qualified practitioner, I continue my learning journey. In fact, I think the key to success with any animal is to keep that curious and open mind. Our pets are communicating through their behaviour, their coat patterns and many other ways. I love nothing more than becoming more aware of these subtle signs, and sharing that with others, to help them and their pets to enjoy more of those magic moments together.
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