Someone bought me the book for Spencer as most of you know he was chased as a puppy and it left him with lots of behavior problems.
Firstly I tried the guesture eating.....Spencer was always a bad eater, I'd eat a cream cracker in front of him, he'd bog off into another room I'd put his food down and he'd ignore it, he'd got to eat it, and I'd take it away and eat another cracker. The outcome of this Spencer was still mental and I put on half a stone
With the walking and turning, I was getting dizzy, Spencer thought it was a game and started jumping up.....took me 20 obedience classes to stop that behaviour.
The I thought I'd try the putting a lead on him and when he misbehaved going back indoors. Now this is a dog terrified of his own shadow who hated going out on a lead anyway so he just got worse cause he knew he's win and I'd turn back.
The book wasnt all bad I did mananged to use it on the litter of puppies I had. I tore it up and used it in the welping box.

Hi Hammer

It's very encouraging to see you have evaluated the advice given here and by the DL person who visited you.

Dog ownership is supposed to be fun (for us and the dogs); anything at all which causes you or your dog to feel sad or dejected is wrong (and I'm not just talking in terms of training). All dogs are individuals so the 'one size fits all' approach to training that JF and the likes advocate is not appropriate for all dogs. Factors like breed, age, history etc HAVE to be taken into account but JF tends to apply her methods rigidly to each and every dog regardless of these things.

I have two dogs of different breeds, I have had to train them in different ways as one is the type that hears the command, sticks two fingers up at you and does what he likes anyway while the other is eager to please and quick to learn. If I applied JF's methods, I'd still have one surly 'sod that, I'm off' dog and one 'yes please, let's do that again' dog but I wouldn't have discovered the methods needed to motivate each dog. And I don't think I would truly know my dogs (and all their little idiosyncrasies) if we hadn't been through that process together

And to all of you whose dogs are out for world domination, Lola has news for you....brown Newfs already rule the world, they just allow us to think that we do

I'm sorry to keep on about this, it's quite embarrassing to see this thread has taken 7 pages to discuss!

Our consultation cost £120 in the end. My wife lapped up everything, however, I am a natural born cynic. Me, personally, I DO NOT think it is value for money, not at all. The first two hours we didn't even have the dog present. In the end, I asked "so shall we let the dog in now, being as though this is about him".

The thing about the Kong and hunting set alarm bells off in my mind, that sounded totally nuts to me. But, I carried on listening. Something else he said that I simply couldn't agree with...that dogs only need walking ONCE EVERY OTHER DAY. Surely not? My Benson needs at least two walks a day, followed by a charge around in the school field in the evening.

The more I read your posts, and the more I think about our personal consultation, the more I feel JF's methods are not for me. I do not regret that my wife and I went through with this, I never regret anything in life. It was an experience. If nothing else, I can speak to other people now from personal experience.

Thing is, even if you don't act on his advice, it all helps to clarify your own thinking and thoughts on the best way to train YOUR dog.

Blimey...all that and walks only every other day.... Not a relationship I would choose to have with my lot, but that's me and my lot. Shaynlola summed it all up incredibly well. :smt002

Don't apologise; this is making for interesting conversation and I for one appreciate you sharing your experiance with us.


No kongs to keep a dog occupied and simulated whilst you are out. One walk every other day. That in itself is a recipe for disaster!! An under exercised bored dog is bound to cause trouble for it's owners at some stage.
I'm relieved you didn't fall for the babble.:smt001

Don't be embarrassed, it has been a really good read - don't forget other's will be going through the same problems as you & I'm sure they'll enjoy reading it too

Personally I think it is a good idea to be aware of all different types of training because I don't necessarily believe that one way of training fits all dogs, just like one way of teaching doesn't fit all children.

Some dogs need more discipline than others because if you give them an inch they take a mile - other dogs will be really well behaved despite their owners (and I'm lucky as I think my 2 fall into that category )

As others have said, I do think that playing 'thinking' games etc. does a lot to help a dog.

When my 2nd rescue dog joined us, although she didn't want to run away, she had no concept of 'leave' or 'stay' or many other basic commands. She has learnt all these through play rather than formal training sessions (e.g. having to stay while I went to hide her toy.)

Good luck with your boxer - it certainly sounds like he has a wonderful home

Quick question for the mods/admin members.

I was wondering if I could write a little 'piece' regarding the Amichien Bonding training, and how I found it. It would be candid, non-libelous and factual. I will also not name names, just mention the activities etc.

Just a thought, people may like to read about it first before parting with up to £150.

If you post the outline as you have just now but in the

"Site Feedback/ Suggestions" section

which is in the Forum support area here

http://www.dogsey.com/forumdisplay.php?f=223

that would probably be the best place then you can answer any queries direct with Admin to see what would be a good format for an article without anyone else being able to see the discussions [ so no interruptions in other words ], thats what I would suggest as a starting point

I`d like to thank you by the way, this has been a great thread which hopefully anyone in the same situation can be helped by

As always she will show you how and then it will be your hard work and application that will make this suceed. She will show you the first steps of a lifelong journey

Thank you Patch