Dear LPG, 

Did you know that nearly half the households in the UK own a dog?  I don’t have one, but for the past 50 years I have lived pretty near a park and a good proportion of the people who walk past my house are either on the way to or from its gates with a dog in tow.

These days, the younger dog walkers are often talking on their mobile phones while making the journey and there are quite a few early morning dog owners who take their dog as part of their daily run, then there are the mums who have the dog in tow together with the children while on the way to school and all of these dogs, whether attached to their owners by lead or command, are obviously part of a daily-routine package-deal.  

When doing a bit of front gardening or looking through the front room window I can’t help but notice that you can tell who is in control.    There are the pooches that follow their owners while they are getting on with the business of getting to their destination while the dog had better keep up and do its stopping by a tree pretty quickly, as opposed to the dog walker who does a lot of standing and waiting for their dog as it circles the trees looking for inspiration.   I have to say that I have always been a bit put off by the need to have the carrier bag ready for poop retrieval.

I can’t help but notice how things have changed over the years.  People just don’t seem to talk to their dogs quite as much these days.  Although some owners have a lot to say to their pets as they amble along ‘dog/owner talk’ appears to be on the decline.  Even those without a mobile conversation on the go, have very little to say to their 21st century dogs.

All this got me thinking that it must be all about perfect training when the dogs are young; so much so that words are not necessary when in public, or is it the case that, these days it is more acceptable to talk on the mobile than it is to talk to the dog? (In all fairness I suspect that the dogs are seriously preoccupied when they are out and about too…) 

I couldn’t help it; I took a look online to find some of the more modern recommendations as to what is suggested when it comes to a conversation between a man and his best friend with some interesting results that I felt I should share.

But, especially for the older members of society, I think that you can’t talk about a rapport with your dog or training it unless you talk about the original and ultimate dog whisperer, Barbara Woodhouse so I have found a little reminder of her too…

LA, Blackheath 

LA offers her findings on modern ways of finding a positive rapport with your dog…

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…and remembers some classic lessons too… 

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