Understanding man’s best friend

Though he may not know it, Tommy, a bouncy border collie from Bramley, Leeds, is in rehab.

Until a week ago his owner, Kirsty Shaw, 22, was so frustrated with his unruly behaviour, she refused to let him off the lead and was considering donating him to the Dogs Trust.

Luckily for Tommy, the Female Dog Whisperer was called in and within a few brief hours, the disobedient dog was brought to heel.

Dawn Welsh, 38, is Yorkshire’s answer to Cesar Millan, the world-renowned dog behaviourist. Her gift of communicating with the canine world has led to a big fan base with dog owners from as far afield as the USA, treating her as something of a doggy guru.

In just one year of setting up as a dog whisperer, the mother-of-two from Cleckheaton, has “rehabilitated” dozens of dogs across the country and whispered to celebrity hounds owned by the likes of Denise Welch and Vanilla Ice.

Back in Bramley, Tommy is busy rollicking through the grass, but this is not just any stroll in the park. Dawn is keeping a hawkish eye on his every canine move.

“You see how his tail is lifting up in a vertical position?” she asks, as Tommy sniffs out a golden retriever a few feet away. “That means he’s getting nervous.”

After a few sniffs, he lowers his tail and wanders off. A low lying tail is an indication that he is relaxed.

“I look at what the dog is trying to tell me,” explains Dawn. “All dogs understand body language. When a dog lifts his right paw off the ground and looks up at you, for example, he’s asking ‘what do you want me to do?’”

Dawn’s no-nonsense approach to communicating with man’s best friend is something she learned from growing up on a farm.

“I’m self-taught. You can’t go to college to learn this, you either have it or you haven’t. I have done some dog training and dog psychology, but most of what I’ve learnt is through my farming background and through life skills.”

Her dog-handling skills were tested to the limit while working as a debt collector on some of the roughest estates in Yorkshire.

“People used to send their dogs out after me, but I’ve never been bitten yet. If a dog jumps up at me I will automatically correct it to the shoulder,” she says.

“The canine understands that I’m communicating through the physical touch and sometimes the dog actually looks relieved to be understood.

“You have to give them structure and routine just as you do with children, not just affection.”

The secret to communicating with a dog is silence, she says.“No touch, no talk, no eye contact and let the dog always come to you.”

She discovered what she calls “the touch” about eight years ago, and it is something she uses on her own gang of six dogs.

“You can’t just stand there and be dominated by the pack. I’m the pack leader and I have to show leadership. If you allow fear or let off any scent of fear then the dog is not going to listen to you.” It’s a method that seems to be working very well on Tommy.

Until Dawn stepped in, he was in the dog house. His unruly behaviour meant his owner, Kirsty, was frightened to let him off the lead, then back at home, he would continuously rip up the blankets in his bed.

Kirsty says: “He has so much energy. I just got frustrated with him. I used to dread taking Tommy out because it got to a point where he didn’t know how to socialise with other dogs because we didn’t let him off the lead.”

Dawn isn’t just there to counsel the dogs, however. As often as not, she says, it is the humans that need the rehabilitation.

“I realised it was my confidence,” confesses Kirsty. “My confidence was just at rock bottom. But within a matter of days it was sky high. Dawn showed me what his body language meant. Before, he had no boundaries and no rules, he was the boss, but now he’s like a totally different dog.” The Female Dog Whisperer offers a helpline for dog owners in distress. She encourages her customers to call or text her with any questions, and even offers to board the dog for a few days to give the owner a break.

She also organises pack walks in Leeds, which she says bring the community back together. Her belief is that a pack can help to rehabilitate an unruly dog and eventually she would like to set up some form of rehabilitation centre where owners can bring their dogs to run free and socialise.

“These walks bring the community back together instead of people walking their dogs at seven different times in the day. I’m trying to make it a safer place for dogs,” says Dawn.

Another customer, Joanne Wade, from Leeds, dialled up the dog whisperer, when her lhasa apso started misbehaving. She bought the dog for her daughter in October, but within a few months, says she was at her “wits end” and was considering donating the dog to a charity. Alfie began to disgrace himself on the kitchen floor, chase other dogs and constantly bark and jump up at people who came to the door.

“I rang Dawn and she was brilliant. She just had so much knowledge. It was like she could tell me what the dog is saying or feeling,” recalls Joanne.

Dawn sums up the way she works by comparing the difference between a dog whisperer and a trainer.

“A dog trainer tells the dog what to do; I look at what the dog is actually trying to tell me.”

www.thefemaledog whisperer.co.uk

THE LEADER OF THE PACK

Dawn’s top tips

* Establish who the pack leader is within the human members of your family.

Walk a puppy around your home for a boundary walk.

* Never allow a dog to stare you out. The dog must look away first, or he gains leadership without you knowing it.

* Set the boundaries. If you don’t want your dog to sleep in your bed, start as you mean to go on.

* Never allow the dog to destroy your belongings, this is disrespectful.

* Remember kids create excitement and over-stimulation. Don’t treat your dog like a toy.