I grew up in Zambia and South Africa where the family dogs were my constant companions but it wasn't until I moved to the UK that I finally got a dog of my own.
I inherited my first boy, a retired racing Greyhound called Radley. I was living in a flat at the time and wasn't allowed to keep a dog.
No way was I letting this beautiful dog go back to kennels so I moved house and haven't been without a hound since.
When Radley had to be put to sleep in 2014 I adopted the gorgeous Yogi - another ex-racer.
Yogi was a handful but, like many people, I believed that, because I didn't get him from a puppy, he would be very hard to train.
Long story short, I lived with his quirks for five years before he too had to be put to sleep.
If I thought Yogi was a handful, Sunny made him look like he'd just dropped from the heavens.
He pulled like the 8.35 out of Gainsborough Central, believed anything small and furry qualified as a snack and anything big and furry was to be challenged.
If an un-neutered male came within a city block he turned into the hound from hell.
The final straw came when he declared an all-out vendetta against the local Husky.
I needed help and I needed it fast, so I had a look online and found Doggy Dan's course on dog reactivity. I studied the lessons carefully and then put them into action. I confess I wasn't expecting much because we've all heard the saying 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.'
Well, that's a myth, for sure. Within days Sunny was a different dog. I was so impressed with the results that I joined the Dog Training Academy and I haven't looked back.
© Copyright 2024 Happy Humans Happy Hounds. All rights reserved.