Dog sitting

I’ve been dog-sitting for friends for the past 10 days, and have had an insight into the world of pet-keeping that I’ve never experienced before. I know ‘Pepper’ well, as I regularly walk her. She’s a beautiful 11 year old Dobermann, and soft and friendly with it.

Looking after a dog 24/7 is an insight into another world – the world of pack animals. I learnt a lot about establishing boundaries and seniority – especially when Pepper started to chew my slippers!

I also made discoveries about saying what I mean. Calling the dog to ‘Come here’ is a high pitched voice which tilts up at the end of the sentence while wondering if she will come back just does not work. Alignment of thinking, body stance and voice (range, timbre and expression) to put clear and assertive messages across worked far better.

I had been steered towards these discoveries by a friend talking about a place in Yorkshire where you can practice assertion through working with border collies as they herd sheep and other animals www.bordercollies.co.uk . Now I fully understand how this can happen.

Mind you, for Pepper, chasing rabbits and deer still take precedence over any mere mortal wanting to go home.