Canine know-how on Day of the Dog

From the archive, first published Thursday 26th Apr 2007.

NEED to communicate with your canine? Join experts for walkies on Sunday to mark International Day of the Dog.

As well as being fun, the event has a serious message about training your dog.

Essex Dog Listeners will be holding a stroll along the seafront in Southend on Sunday, starting at 10.30am, and will be handing out information on the theme of this year's day - stop the bullying of dogs.

Julie Abbott is one of four fully qualified dog listeners in Essex.

They have all trained with Jan Fennell, the founder of the method of canine communication known as amichien bon-ding, which uses hand signals to train problem pets rather than items such as choke chains.

Jan, from Lincolnshire, was herself prompted to develop the art by Ameri-can Monty Roberts, whose miraculous methods of taming wild horses inspired the Robert Redford film the Horse Whisperer.

Her methods have been praised and celebrity fans include James Bolam, An-nette Crosbie and Jenny Seagrove.

Julie, from Hockley, qualified as a canine communicator under Jan's instruction in 2004.

She explained: "So many people resort to things like choke chains and even shock collars to try to cure their pets' problems, but do not realise that aside from the cruelty they inflict, these things can actually make the dog aggressive or worsen the behaviour.

"Our aim is to stop the force used in traditional dog training methods and help owners to eliminate bad behaviour, using consistent and calm signals their animal actually understands."

The aim of International Day of the Dog is to celebrate the special relationship between man and his best friend, and part of this year's theme is to raise awareness of welfare.

It was started last year by Jan Fennell and followers to coincide with the Chinese year of the dog.

Once again, events will take place all over the world to mark the day, including a picnic in Florida and beach stroll in Venezuela.

Julie and her colleagues in Essex are including an amnesty for training tools as part of their event.

She said: "We are asking people to discontinue using abusive gadgets in the name of training' and guide them toward a better way of teaching their dogs.

"So, if you have any electric shock collars, spike or spray collars and choke chains in a desperate attempt to cure your dogs behavioural problems, you may hand these to us anonymously.

"In return, you will receive a free copy of Jan Fennell's best selling book The Dog Listener and experience the joy of having a relationship you both truly deserve - gadget-free!"

More details on the campaign are available on www.internationaldayofthe dog.org.uk