ARTICLES, HINTS & TIPS

DORSET LIFE DOG LISTENER INTERVIEW

Above: Julie Corbin and one of her dogs

‘We humans try to solve problems with dogs by imposing human standards and values on them. In so doing we deny their nature’

I am with Julie Corbin, dog listener, at her home near Bridport. ‘Julie Corbin, dog listener – what on earth is that all about?’ I hear you say. Well, I must ask you to please be patient and all will be revealed.

First things first though, some background. Julie was born in Bournemouth in 1965. She went to the Glenmoor School for Girls and on leaving worked for a financial company. Julie, however, had always wanted to join the Police Force and in 1989, after a sight defect had been corrected, she was able to fulfill that long-held ambition. She was stationed at Poole and it was there that she met her husband, a fellow officer. ‘I did 17 years in the Force and loved it,’ she tells me. ‘The job is never boring, you feel you’re doing something worthwhile – and the camaraderie is fantastic.’

She worked as a detective constable and family liaison officer, this latter work taking her to New York in the aftermath of 9/11 to help British people who had lost loved-ones in that terrible atrocity. Sadly, soon after returning to Dorset Julie sustained serious injuries when the pursuit car in which she was travelling crashed whilst responding to an incident and she had to retire early on health grounds.

Today, together with her husband, who is still in the Force, two German Shepherd dogs, who are not, two Labradors and the odd cat or two, she lives in a cottage overlooking the Brit Valley just north of Bridport. ‘On leaving the police I decided to start my own business,’ says Julie. ‘I’ve always had dogs and I love animals, so I started ‘Hooves, Paws and Claws’. I do dog walking, pet visits and puppy classes. I look after smallholdings when the owners want a break or are ill – horses, sheep, chickens, the whole bit.’

It was whilst working with clients’ dogs that Julie realised that some of her charges had got problems and needed help. ‘Aggression towards other dogs and humans, jumping up, pulling on the lead, chewing, barking at callers, attacking the post, and separation anxiety are just some of the issues I encountered,’ she tells me. At around this time Julie discovered a book called The Dog Listener by an American lady called Jan Fennell. In it, Fennell wrote about a technique which she dubbed ‘Amichien Bonding’, which she claimed was a kind and natural way of living with domestic dogs that not only respects the dog as a separate species but involves a simple, common-sense approach to their training.

Here’s Julie. ‘We humans try to solve problems with dogs by imposing human standards and values on them. In so doing we deny their nature. The result is a breakdown in communication. Based on her observations of the wolf, the dog’s common ancestor, Jan Fennell realised that owners fail to give their dogs the leadership signals which as pack animals they instinctively look for.
Worse still, owners give their dogs signals which lead their dogs to believe that they are the leader of the pack. The dog then makes decisions in a world it doesn’t understand, it gets confused and stressed and a whole lot of problems result. By communicating the correct body language to your dog you become the ‘alpha dog’ or pack leader, and by giving it the correct information the dog will do what you want it to because it wants to.’

For Julie, Fennell’s theories rang true and she went on to gain a Jan Fennell Dog Listener Advanced Certificate in Canine Communication and a BTEC Distinction in Animal Behaviour.

‘It’s all about providing the customer with the tools they need. I give a dog-owning family an action plan and all the backup and advice they need,’ Julie explains. ‘That can last a lifetime. A baby might come into the family, or another dog. What ever might happen I am there for them.’

I put it to her that it all sounds a bit lacking in love, that by giving your pooch a cuddle you might get it believing that it was the alpha dog. Julie laughs. ‘Of course you can make a fuss of your dog but you do it on your own terms. If the dog comes to you uninvited ignore it. It will soon get to know that you give affection only when you want to. Consistency is everything.'

I ask if she has ever come up against a dog that simply would not come right, a dog so determined to be the leader of the pack that she was forced to concede defeat. ‘Never,’ is her succinct reply. ‘Dogs have different personalities. You can get two dogs from the same litter, one will be outgoing, the other quiet and lacking in confidence. Some dogs respond quicker than others – some as soon as two weeks, some as long as six months. In the end though, no dog is beyond redemption.’

It’s time for a picture of Julie. Out in the garden I watch as she lets her four dogs out of their purpose-built kennels. Once loose, they look to Julie for guidance as to how they should behave. That guidance, when it comes, is so low-key as to be almost invisible – it certainly doesn’t involve shouts or threats.

She selects one of the German Shepherds to join her for the picture and the dog takes up a position by her side. The rapport between Julie and the dog is clear yet there is no doubting that it is Julie who is the alpha in the relationship. Not that the dog is the slightest bit cowed, it is, quite simply, happy to please her. Photography completed, Julie gives the dog a cuddle. She looks up and smiles. It is a smile of quiet satisfaction that seems say: ‘There you are, that’s what being a dog listener is all about.