My name is Lucy. I started this blog as a result of my interest and experiences living and working with dogs and other animals. This passion all started with my two adopted border collies (below), both of whom came to me with difficult backgrounds and are the reason I became so interested in force free, positive, progressive training and learning to 'understand' behaviour. I am currently an instructor at two agility clubs, one being Fun Dog Agility (Hampshire, UK) and a proud Associate Member of The Pet Professional Guild (for the promotion of force free, science- based training).
I have recently had the opportunity to study and work with other (wild) animals abroad from dogs (of course!) to primates (including chimpanzees, orangutans, capuchins, macaques, tamarins, marmosets and various other species). Helping vulnerable, abused and exploited animals has now become a major passion.
As as a languages student I speak French and Spanish and so you should (with time) find as many resources/musings as possible translated in both on this site. Speaking to likeminded animal folk in Spain and France and given the worldwide popularity and increasing awareness of force free, positive training and the global interest in animal behaviour, I find that having resources available in multiple language formats should be a good resource for all and help to spread the positive methods message worldwide.
The protagonist pooches you'll hear about in this blog are:
Dash- a working sheepdog who came to me at roughly 4 months old (we think) after his first and what seems to be his second homes fell through due to problems with other resident dogs accepting him and the owners struggling with a very full on collie type. Dash is a complex soul; naturally fearful, extremely intelligent and yet the strongest "working sheepdog" (in terms of drive and instinct) that I know. These aspects mean he has his fair share of behavioural (as well as ongoing health) issues and ultimately would have been an ideal candidate for living and working on a farm with an understanding farmer. That said, he is kept happy (and busy) here with us, is very much loved and has a particularly strong bond with me. He enjoys agility training (and is VERY fast!), learning new tricks (through clicker training sessions) and lives to play 'sheepballs' (a herding game for collies without sheep!).
Khuma- also a border collie, but rather than being a worker, is of the pretty blue and white 'barbie collie' variety. She was rehomed to me at 4 years of age after her previous owners experienced problems with her and another resident bitch. Although they did try to resolve the issues with help from a behaviourist, it seems the two girls just did not want to get along (although both got along with all of the others) and so she came to us. Unfortunately Khuma has had a number of unpleasant experiences with other dogs, in one particular incident she was charged and frightened by others dogs whilst on a lead, which left her fearful of unknown dogs, particularly those that run at her. Another complication is that we now believe that her eyesight is not 100%, which doesn't generally affect her too much but naturally doesn't particularly help her confidence. Her confidence has improved a fair amount with positive training methods and management and the work continues. She is an incredibly affectionate and a sweet girl and is our (oversized) lap dog.
