April 22, 2025 • 19 mins
What makes the difference between a failed rescue adoption and a success story? Alice joins us to share her journey with Bonnie, a 40-kilo German Shepherd-Cane Corso-Mastiff mix with a troubled past involving another dog's death. This powerful conversation reveals how games-based training transformed their relationship and could save countless rescue dogs from becoming part of the heartbreaking 50% failure statistic.
When Alice first brought Bonnie home, she faced what many rescue adopters experience – the gradual emergence of serious behavioral issues including reactivity and separation anxiety that made daily life challenging. Rather than giving up, Alice discovered a different approach through Absolute Dogs that focused on building relationship rather than using traditional correction-based methods often recommended for large, powerful breeds.
The transformation in Bonnie didn't happen overnight, but through consistent games that built calmness, trust, and communication, this once-concerning dog became a trusted companion. As Alice explains, "I'm five foot three, under 50 kilos, and I have this sleeping, snoring giant breed dog that I can walk safely on my own – not through force, but because she wants to move with me." Her story demonstrates that even dogs with serious incidents in their past can become treasured family members with the right approach.
Are you considering adopting a rescue dog or struggling with one already? We're offering completely free resources to rescue centers, volunteers, and adopters worldwide to help more dogs find and keep their forever homes. Reach out through absolute-dogs.com to access these materials and join our supportive community of rescue dog owners who understand your journey.
If you’re loving the podcast, you’ll love our NEW Sexier than a Squirrel Dog Training Challenge even more! Get transformational dog training today for only £27!
Want even more epic dog training fun and games and solutions to all your dog training struggles? Join us in the AbsoluteDogs Games Club!
https://absolutedogs.me/gamesclub
Want to take your learning to the next level? Jump into the games-based training membership for passionate dog owners and aspiring trainers that know they want more for themselves and their dog - Pro Dog Trainer Club!
https://absolutedogs.me/prodogtrainerclub
And while you’re here, please leave a review for us and don’t forget to hit share and post your biggest lightbulb moment! Remember, no matter what struggles you might be facing with your dog, there is always a game for that!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel
podcast.
I'm Lauren Langman.
I'm one of the world's leadingdog trainers and it's my mission
to help owners become theirdog's top priority.
In each episode, you'lldiscover how to gain trust and
communicate with your dog likenever before, creating
unbreakable bonds that make youthe most exciting part of their
world.
Rescue dogs and not just anyrescue dog big rescue dogs.
(00:33):
You've come with big history,alice.
Tell us about it.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Hello, thank you for having me, and this is my
absolute passion.
So I am the, the proud andhappy owner of Bonnie, who is a
sort of 40 odd kilo GermanShepherd, canny corso, mega
mastiff mutt mix, and and yetand she, we got her as a two
(01:01):
year old dog from a local rescuecentre.
And we got her as atwo-year-old dog from a local
rescue centre and we were madeaware that there had been quite
a serious incident which had ledto her being removed from her
previous owner and brought intorescue, which was that, due to
some mismanagement with theprevious owner, there had
(01:23):
actually been a very serious dogfight incident which sadly
resulted in the death of theother dog.
So, um, bonnie was taken intorescue with this sort of stain
on her record and that didn'tput us off, because we knew that
actually that was down to themanagement, or rather the
(01:43):
mismanagement, of those dogs andthat, sadly, that that had been
entirely avoidable situationand that she definitely deserved
another chance.
Um, I think perhaps we wereslightly naive about the uh
extent of what a learning curveshe was going to be for us.
But, um, but she's in a much,much better place now.
(02:04):
She's much happier, healthier,much more, um, calmer, um sort
of a much more kind of sociablyacceptable dog now than she was
when we, when we got her, andcertainly, uh, than she was
before um.
So yeah, I'm hugely passionateabout rescue dogs and here to
(02:26):
absolutely answer questions andhelp anybody else who might be
thinking about taking on arescue dog or might be
struggling with the rescue dogthey've just taken on and are
maybe just in need of someguidance and some topics let's
go now, before we go any further.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
One thing we're going to say is because alice is so
passionate and she's a big partof the Absolute Dogs community
she's a student of Absolute Dogs, but she also is really
passionate in the community andin the community spaces we're
going to give away to all rescuecentres listening or any rescue
centre you know, or any rescuecentre you want to touch base
with or any rescue centre youwant to reach out to.
We're going to give away rescueresources.
(03:02):
We're happy to give away of ourcourses.
We're very happy to even giveaway physical resources if they
want to come past our centre.
Our centre is in Devon.
We're very happy to givephysical resources away Whilst
we have everything lasting.
You're very welcome to getinvolved and take some of what
we have.
But equally, all of the digitalresources can go all over the
world to rescue centres to helpowners, to help owners of rescue
(03:24):
dogs, to help rescue centresand all of their teams, all of
their staff, their volunteers,their employees and their
employers.
We want to help rescue dogs andrescue owners stay together.
And one of the biggest thingswe see.
I can't remember the statistic,and neither can Alice, but it's
close to 50% of dogs either comeback or put to sleep, so they
don't make it in rescue.
And that isn't because of thedog and that isn't because of
(03:47):
the owner.
It's because of the mismatchand misalignment often of the
expectation and the reality.
Now, I know you saw that andplease, guys, do get in touch if
you've got a rescue dog and ifyou maybe know of a rescue
centre or know of someone inrescue or volunteering for
rescue.
We have got resources for you,we've got resources for you and
we want to help.
You have all of the resourcesand give them.
(04:07):
They're free, no chargewhatsoever.
There will be no charge,whether you need them for 50
people at the rescue centre or500 people.
There will be no charge to youin the rescue centre and that's
our give back to rescue dogs andto celebrate owners who are
helping rescue dogs.
Now, alice, I know the realityand the expectation.
There was a mismatch therebecause when you brought her
(04:27):
home, it wasn't all sort ofsmelling of roses and perfect
scenarios and I know that thiswas potentially for some people,
a space to take the dog back,but actually for you it was a
moment of maybe stretchfrustration.
You made it through, but tellus about that period.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, it was it for the first kind of couple of
weeks or so.
Uh, after we got bonnie home,this was no kind of immediately
obvious red flags, um, and youknow, I think this is just
because we have to understand itdoes take our dogs a little
time to actually start to kindof process the change of being
(05:09):
in one place one day and thenbeing in your home the next and
kind of learning what all thatmeans.
So sometimes the behavioralissues can take a little time to
show themselves.
In Bonnie's case when, whenthey did, they really did so we
found ourselves tackling seriouslike separation, uh struggles,
(05:32):
serious reactivity struggles, um, and you know she's a lot of
dogs, she's a big dog.
So this was a big problem for usand we, you know we were
determined that if there was, ifwe could, we were not going to
give up on her.
That you know.
We knew she would be adifficult dog to rehome.
(05:54):
We really did not want to failher, but we obviously needed to
make sure that she and we andeveryone in our community was
safe and that we were handlingher responsibly.
So we've really sort of dug ourheels in and set to work,
learning how to make thesituation better.
Um, and you know, we we didn'tstrike gold first time, you know
(06:16):
, but I'm so pleased that quiteearly on into us sort of trying
to search for information,trying to search for the right
kind of learning, we did findabsolute dogs and we did start
to then sort of get sometraction and start making some
improvement.
So if you are listening to thisand you are having massive
(06:36):
buyer's remorse over the rescuedog you've recently brought home
and thinking you're out of yourdepth and thinking, oh crikey,
this could be one of thosefailed relationships that they
were just talking about.
Keep listening and stick withus because actually, um, yeah,
there's absolutely hope andthere's absolutely reason to to
sort of actually let thoseworries go and actually just try
(06:57):
playing some games, try sort ofdoing some of the right kind of
things that are gonna buildyour relationship with your dog
and actually maybe startaddressing that mismatch between
that kind of where you're atnow, what you're expecting, what
are the skills, what are theconcepts that are missing,
because we can actually breakthis down and make what seems
(07:17):
like an enormous, insurmountablestruggle actually quite bite
size and quite easy to startchipping away at.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I love that, I really love that and just explain to
people quite how you foundAbsolute Dogs and what did your
pathway in look like and howdoes it look now.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, we had amongst the sort of struggles we had
with Bonnie was actually therealisation that she had some
quite serious paedic issueswhich needed attention, issues
which needed attention.
And so the vet advised that,whilst we were awaiting
treatment, rest of it that weshould just keep her in um.
So as much as we didn'tconsciously know that we were
(07:58):
ditching the walks from abehavioral perspective, it was
just sort of purely from a kindof physical discomfort
perspective.
It was whilst we were on thatkind of house rest that I found
the um, like I said, seven dayreactivity workshop um and I
thought, well, actually, okay,we've got to keep her in, at
(08:19):
least I can maybe try and learnsomething whilst from home.
And, you know, got to stay inwith her just see if any of
these games are okay for her todo now whilst she has to be on a
lot of rest.
And I immediately learned about, you know, about the bucket,
about concept training, aboutthe importance of calmness, all
these things that immediatelyjust started making a lot of
(08:41):
sense with where we were at interms of Bonnie's behavioral
struggles.
So, whilst we were working onthe, the orthopedic issues, I
did so much at home training,you know, entering through the
kind of naughty but nice routeand kind of did boot camps and
got into games club and did allof this so that by the time we
(09:05):
were actually out of the otherside of the orthopedic struggles
and we could actually startkind of returning to a bit more
sort of normal exercise andthings like that.
For her.
We had a lot of the rightfoundations in place then
behaviorally and she'd actuallycome on leaps and bounds from a
behavioral perspective, um, eventhough we'd just been training
(09:27):
at home.
Um.
So you know, it kind of it allkind of dovetailed accidentally
for us, um.
But but certainly, you know, if, even if you're not having to
worry about any kind ofveterinary issues and you're
just thinking I'm having ahorrible time with my dog and
having reactivity issues orseparation issues or whatever,
whatever it might be, um, youknow, start learning about those
(09:52):
concepts, start kind of playinga few games and stuff, because
actually just working a littlebit at home and then starting to
sort of take those skills intoother environments, it was, I
mean, it was revolutionary forus.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
What would be one of your top tips for someone
thinking about getting a rescuedog?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
oh, top tips, I'm thinking I get, I mean
definitely I I think do it, doit, but do it with lots of
research.
I think you know um, definitelyhave you know if you can do
kind of several meet and greetsand sort of you know see if you
(10:35):
can.
Uh, maybe even kind of if youlook into some to some games and
things already you know, have alook on games club.
I see kind of what things mightbe really good, little kind of
conversation starters,relationship builders, that you
can then go to a meet and greetat your rescue center with with
those games in mind, so that youknow you can then go to a meet
and greet at your rescue centerwith with those games in mind,
so that you know you can maybehave an opportunity to sort of
(10:56):
play a couple of little simplegames and just sort of um, you
know see how, how you gel withthe, with the dogs.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
I say Do you think and I know your answer here do
you think you could have beenbetter prepared if you'd been
part of Games Club beforegetting your rescue dog home?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
100%, 100%, because if we have that kind of right
structure of learning from dayone, then we wouldn't have
wasted time on anyone telling ussort of more old fashioned ways
of of getting dogs to behavewhich just didn't sit right for
us, um.
So you know, we'd have justkind of gotten off on the right
(11:35):
foot from day one and that wouldhave been brilliant and I would
absolutely just sort ofadvocate for that really for
anyone thinking of getting arescue dog is.
You know, if you can, you?
I mean, if you listen to thispodcast, you're already in the
right sort of space, you'realready kind of thinking along
those lines.
So you know, good work and andcompletely aligned with Alice
here if you listen to thispodcast, you're already in the
right sort of space, you'realready kind of thinking along
those lines.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
So you know, good work and completely aligned with
Alice here.
If you can get someonelistening to the podcast with
you, share it.
Get someone who maybe has a dogor a dog struggle or even just
getting a puppy, or maybethey're getting an adult dog or
maybe they look after anotherdog.
For me, the more owners we havethat are educated and educated
in a games-based, concept-basedway, actually you're going to
meet better owners when you'reout there walking.
Now, alice, another one I'mthinking and this one's quite a
(12:14):
cool one is that anyone who'sout there again either thinking
of getting a rescue dog orrecently got a rescue dog or has
had a rescue dog with strugglesor problems, what sort of
little tips would you have forthem in terms of maybe ditch the
bowl, ditch the routine, ditchthe walk, because it is going to
be different.
I like that you sort of touchedbase on that.
(12:34):
Really, it's going to bedifferent to some other trainers
that are out there and I knowthat big breeds, especially like
Bonnie.
A lot of people would go toaversive or police dog style
trainers for a dog like that,maybe using chains or correction
collars or sort of prongs andand tools.
Really, what tips would youhave surrounding that?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I think that the most important thing and this not
just for rescue dogs, for any,any dog that you, that you have
it's the relationship you havewith your dog is the most
important thing to you.
Know, because you want to be ateam, you know you want to be
each other's companions, youwant to have that, that sort of
mutual trust and affection, andthat doesn't come about
(13:21):
naturally through, like you say,like kind of the, the use of
aversives, and I can understandthe human temptation to go in
that direction.
When you've got a big, powerfulanimal that you are worried
could potentially do some damageor that you know has done
damage in the past, and you knowyou're riddled with anxiety
about what if it happens on mywatch or what have you.
I know I can understand thatthe people could, could be sort
(13:45):
of persuaded that that would be.
You, you know a necessarycourse of action, but not only
is it not necessary, it'sactually not as effective.
It's just, you know, if weactually rewind that and and
forget that idea and we actuallyfocus on building a
relationship, building that um,mutual trust with your dog, then
(14:11):
you, you get much betterresults and much more reliable
results.
You know that I am five footthree, sub 50 kilos and I have
this sleeping, snoring giantbreed dog and and I can walk
here safely, you know, on my own, and that is not through use of
(14:35):
force or that she has to do asshe's told.
It's because she wants to move,move with me, she wants to work
with me.
We are a team and so that thatmakes her a joy to live with and
a joy to train.
And we, you know, we have amuch happier existence together
than um, than if we, than if weweren't playing games.
(14:57):
Um, and I mean, like I say,she's enormous and that means
we've got an awful lot of foodthat we can play with every day.
So it it makes it very easy tobuild that relationship and
train using games, because, Imean, I don't need to worry
about thinking, oh, she's goingto be given loads of treats and
things, I just use the foodshe's going to eat anyway and we
(15:17):
can put that value into thethings that I want her to learn
to have value for, um.
So it's, it's just, it's verysimple stuff really.
It just works it's completely.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
For me, it's common sense.
So much of it, yeah, but what Ihave learned in the recent
world is common sense is notthat common and actually it's
better to help and to teach andto coach.
So, with that in mind, I wantto just reiterate to everyone if
you've got a rescue dog, if youknow of a rescue centre, if you
know of a rescue centre that isin need of help, if you know of
a volunteer for a rescue centre, an employee of a rescue centre
(15:51):
, a managing director of arescue centre, someone who is
helping rescue dogs anywhere inthe world, from Spain to New
Zealand, australia, right downto the depths of Devon, where we
live If it's physical resources, they can come past the centre
and collect them.
If it's feasible.
If it's not a physical resourceand it's a digital resource,
something that you want, acourse or something that we can
(16:11):
help you with and we've got somany good rescue dog resources
they are completely free to youand we're going to make sure we
take care of you.
So please, please, please,please, please, do reach out to
us.
Head over to absolute-dogscom,fill in the help form or email
us or touch base with us, and wewant to help rescue dogs.
So, alice, I'm going to leavewith one tip for rescue dogs,
and my tip is going to be beforeyou ever get your rescue dog,
(16:34):
do your research.
Do your research on the rescue,do your research on the type of
dog that you want.
And I'm going to give an example.
I was doing a little puppyparty.
This was about 15 years ago.
A lady had two Jack looked atthem and I thought how do I tell
her she's got two murderers saton her lap?
Because, ultimately, jackRussell Terriers are bred to
kill bite.
It's a different kind of biteand, as much as they are
(16:57):
gorgeous little dogs, they arebred with a job in mind.
And I think it's reallyimportant, equally with the
Border Collie, that the ladysaid yeah, yeah, this is a
perfect pet dog, came from afamily.
Both parents are pet dogs.
If you got one that just sitsand sleeps and curls up on the
sofa, then you did get yourselfa dud.
Border collies are bred to workand they're bred to do a job,
and for me, my border collies doa job, even if it's brave
(17:18):
herding the chickens post spinalsurgeries and post spinal
problems, and so for me, it'sreally really vital that your
dog has a job so brave's jobeven as a rehab dog and a dog
who's in like spinal care.
She has a job so Brave's jobeven as a rehab dog and a dog
who's in like spinal care.
She has a job and her job is tolook after our chickens and
that is her job and she takes itseriously.
She is very diligent aboutmaking sure everyone goes to bed
.
I want you to think about doingyour research.
(17:41):
Get your free resources.
There's loads of free resources.
You're better to take your time.
Henry Ford says fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Let's not fail a rescue dog,because there are enough
failures out there already.
We're here to help you succeed.
What would your tip be, alice,for rescue dogs or rescue dog
owners or rescue dog volunteersor centres all over the world?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Get the resources and start with games-based training
from day one.
Training from day one, but alsoI mean if you can then jump
into the community as well,because actually sometimes you
know dog training or findingyour feet with a brand new dog,
a dog that's maybe got a bit ofan odd history to it.
It can be a lonely space, itcan.
You can easily feel overwhelmedif you are, if you don't have
(18:26):
some support around you.
So if you can get into gamesclub, if you can get into PDT
club, if you can get into PDTClub, if you can join in the
community, you're going to besurrounded by people who have
also rehomed rescue dogs, haveyou know, overcome training
struggles, and who've got hugeamounts of knowledge and tips to
share, and who can just bethere to support you and help
you along your way and help youmake a success of that
(18:48):
relationship.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Absolutely super Guys .
That was this episode of theSex and Squirrel podcast.
Please share it with rescueowners, rescue centres, anybody
who's been involved in rescue atany level.
We are here to help.
Thank you, alice, and thewonderful Bonnie, who I know is
at your feet, for joining us.
It's been a pleasure and I knowthere are more sessions
together.
Make sure you share the podcast.
(19:10):
It is your duty, it is ourmission and we'll see you next
week.
Remember, stay sexy.
Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel
podcast.
I'm Lauren Langman.
I'm one of the world's leadingdog trainers and it's my mission
to help owners become theirdog's top priority.
In each episode, you'lldiscover how to gain trust and
communicate with your dog likenever before, creating
unbreakable bonds that make youthe most exciting part of their
world.
Rescue dogs and not just anyrescue dog big rescue dogs.
(00:33):
You've come with big history,alice.
Tell us about it.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Hello, thank you for having me, and this is my
absolute passion.
So I am the, the proud andhappy owner of Bonnie, who is a
sort of 40 odd kilo GermanShepherd, canny corso, mega
mastiff mutt mix, and and yetand she, we got her as a two
(01:01):
year old dog from a local rescuecentre.
And we got her as atwo-year-old dog from a local
rescue centre and we were madeaware that there had been quite
a serious incident which had ledto her being removed from her
previous owner and brought intorescue, which was that, due to
some mismanagement with theprevious owner, there had
(01:23):
actually been a very serious dogfight incident which sadly
resulted in the death of theother dog.
So, um, bonnie was taken intorescue with this sort of stain
on her record and that didn'tput us off, because we knew that
actually that was down to themanagement, or rather the
(01:43):
mismanagement, of those dogs andthat, sadly, that that had been
entirely avoidable situationand that she definitely deserved
another chance.
Um, I think perhaps we wereslightly naive about the uh
extent of what a learning curveshe was going to be for us.
But, um, but she's in a much,much better place now.
(02:04):
She's much happier, healthier,much more, um, calmer, um sort
of a much more kind of sociablyacceptable dog now than she was
when we, when we got her, andcertainly, uh, than she was
before um.
So yeah, I'm hugely passionateabout rescue dogs and here to
(02:26):
absolutely answer questions andhelp anybody else who might be
thinking about taking on arescue dog or might be
struggling with the rescue dogthey've just taken on and are
maybe just in need of someguidance and some topics let's
go now, before we go any further.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
One thing we're going to say is because alice is so
passionate and she's a big partof the Absolute Dogs community
she's a student of Absolute Dogs, but she also is really
passionate in the community andin the community spaces we're
going to give away to all rescuecentres listening or any rescue
centre you know, or any rescuecentre you want to touch base
with or any rescue centre youwant to reach out to.
We're going to give away rescueresources.
(03:02):
We're happy to give away of ourcourses.
We're very happy to even giveaway physical resources if they
want to come past our centre.
Our centre is in Devon.
We're very happy to givephysical resources away Whilst
we have everything lasting.
You're very welcome to getinvolved and take some of what
we have.
But equally, all of the digitalresources can go all over the
world to rescue centres to helpowners, to help owners of rescue
(03:24):
dogs, to help rescue centresand all of their teams, all of
their staff, their volunteers,their employees and their
employers.
We want to help rescue dogs andrescue owners stay together.
And one of the biggest thingswe see.
I can't remember the statistic,and neither can Alice, but it's
close to 50% of dogs either comeback or put to sleep, so they
don't make it in rescue.
And that isn't because of thedog and that isn't because of
(03:47):
the owner.
It's because of the mismatchand misalignment often of the
expectation and the reality.
Now, I know you saw that andplease, guys, do get in touch if
you've got a rescue dog and ifyou maybe know of a rescue
centre or know of someone inrescue or volunteering for
rescue.
We have got resources for you,we've got resources for you and
we want to help.
You have all of the resourcesand give them.
(04:07):
They're free, no chargewhatsoever.
There will be no charge,whether you need them for 50
people at the rescue centre or500 people.
There will be no charge to youin the rescue centre and that's
our give back to rescue dogs andto celebrate owners who are
helping rescue dogs.
Now, alice, I know the realityand the expectation.
There was a mismatch therebecause when you brought her
(04:27):
home, it wasn't all sort ofsmelling of roses and perfect
scenarios and I know that thiswas potentially for some people,
a space to take the dog back,but actually for you it was a
moment of maybe stretchfrustration.
You made it through, but tellus about that period.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, it was it for the first kind of couple of
weeks or so.
Uh, after we got bonnie home,this was no kind of immediately
obvious red flags, um, and youknow, I think this is just
because we have to understand itdoes take our dogs a little
time to actually start to kindof process the change of being
(05:09):
in one place one day and thenbeing in your home the next and
kind of learning what all thatmeans.
So sometimes the behavioralissues can take a little time to
show themselves.
In Bonnie's case when, whenthey did, they really did so we
found ourselves tackling seriouslike separation, uh struggles,
(05:32):
serious reactivity struggles, um, and you know she's a lot of
dogs, she's a big dog.
So this was a big problem for usand we, you know we were
determined that if there was, ifwe could, we were not going to
give up on her.
That you know.
We knew she would be adifficult dog to rehome.
(05:54):
We really did not want to failher, but we obviously needed to
make sure that she and we andeveryone in our community was
safe and that we were handlingher responsibly.
So we've really sort of dug ourheels in and set to work,
learning how to make thesituation better.
Um, and you know, we we didn'tstrike gold first time, you know
(06:16):
, but I'm so pleased that quiteearly on into us sort of trying
to search for information,trying to search for the right
kind of learning, we did findabsolute dogs and we did start
to then sort of get sometraction and start making some
improvement.
So if you are listening to thisand you are having massive
(06:36):
buyer's remorse over the rescuedog you've recently brought home
and thinking you're out of yourdepth and thinking, oh crikey,
this could be one of thosefailed relationships that they
were just talking about.
Keep listening and stick withus because actually, um, yeah,
there's absolutely hope andthere's absolutely reason to to
sort of actually let thoseworries go and actually just try
(06:57):
playing some games, try sort ofdoing some of the right kind of
things that are gonna buildyour relationship with your dog
and actually maybe startaddressing that mismatch between
that kind of where you're atnow, what you're expecting, what
are the skills, what are theconcepts that are missing,
because we can actually breakthis down and make what seems
(07:17):
like an enormous, insurmountablestruggle actually quite bite
size and quite easy to startchipping away at.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I love that, I really love that and just explain to
people quite how you foundAbsolute Dogs and what did your
pathway in look like and howdoes it look now.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, we had amongst the sort of struggles we had
with Bonnie was actually therealisation that she had some
quite serious paedic issueswhich needed attention, issues
which needed attention.
And so the vet advised that,whilst we were awaiting
treatment, rest of it that weshould just keep her in um.
So as much as we didn'tconsciously know that we were
(07:58):
ditching the walks from abehavioral perspective, it was
just sort of purely from a kindof physical discomfort
perspective.
It was whilst we were on thatkind of house rest that I found
the um, like I said, seven dayreactivity workshop um and I
thought, well, actually, okay,we've got to keep her in, at
(08:19):
least I can maybe try and learnsomething whilst from home.
And, you know, got to stay inwith her just see if any of
these games are okay for her todo now whilst she has to be on a
lot of rest.
And I immediately learned about, you know, about the bucket,
about concept training, aboutthe importance of calmness, all
these things that immediatelyjust started making a lot of
(08:41):
sense with where we were at interms of Bonnie's behavioral
struggles.
So, whilst we were working onthe, the orthopedic issues, I
did so much at home training,you know, entering through the
kind of naughty but nice routeand kind of did boot camps and
got into games club and did allof this so that by the time we
(09:05):
were actually out of the otherside of the orthopedic struggles
and we could actually startkind of returning to a bit more
sort of normal exercise andthings like that.
For her.
We had a lot of the rightfoundations in place then
behaviorally and she'd actuallycome on leaps and bounds from a
behavioral perspective, um, eventhough we'd just been training
(09:27):
at home.
Um.
So you know, it kind of it allkind of dovetailed accidentally
for us, um.
But but certainly, you know, if, even if you're not having to
worry about any kind ofveterinary issues and you're
just thinking I'm having ahorrible time with my dog and
having reactivity issues orseparation issues or whatever,
whatever it might be, um, youknow, start learning about those
(09:52):
concepts, start kind of playinga few games and stuff, because
actually just working a littlebit at home and then starting to
sort of take those skills intoother environments, it was, I
mean, it was revolutionary forus.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
What would be one of your top tips for someone
thinking about getting a rescuedog?
Speaker 2 (10:15):
oh, top tips, I'm thinking I get, I mean
definitely I I think do it, doit, but do it with lots of
research.
I think you know um, definitelyhave you know if you can do
kind of several meet and greetsand sort of you know see if you
(10:35):
can.
Uh, maybe even kind of if youlook into some to some games and
things already you know, have alook on games club.
I see kind of what things mightbe really good, little kind of
conversation starters,relationship builders, that you
can then go to a meet and greetat your rescue center with with
those games in mind, so that youknow you can then go to a meet
and greet at your rescue centerwith with those games in mind,
so that you know you can maybehave an opportunity to sort of
(10:56):
play a couple of little simplegames and just sort of um, you
know see how, how you gel withthe, with the dogs.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
I say Do you think and I know your answer here do
you think you could have beenbetter prepared if you'd been
part of Games Club beforegetting your rescue dog home?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
100%, 100%, because if we have that kind of right
structure of learning from dayone, then we wouldn't have
wasted time on anyone telling ussort of more old fashioned ways
of of getting dogs to behavewhich just didn't sit right for
us, um.
So you know, we'd have justkind of gotten off on the right
(11:35):
foot from day one and that wouldhave been brilliant and I would
absolutely just sort ofadvocate for that really for
anyone thinking of getting arescue dog is.
You know, if you can, you?
I mean, if you listen to thispodcast, you're already in the
right sort of space, you'realready kind of thinking along
those lines.
So you know, good work and andcompletely aligned with Alice
here if you listen to thispodcast, you're already in the
right sort of space, you'realready kind of thinking along
those lines.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
So you know, good work and completely aligned with
Alice here.
If you can get someonelistening to the podcast with
you, share it.
Get someone who maybe has a dogor a dog struggle or even just
getting a puppy, or maybethey're getting an adult dog or
maybe they look after anotherdog.
For me, the more owners we havethat are educated and educated
in a games-based, concept-basedway, actually you're going to
meet better owners when you'reout there walking.
Now, alice, another one I'mthinking and this one's quite a
(12:14):
cool one is that anyone who'sout there again either thinking
of getting a rescue dog orrecently got a rescue dog or has
had a rescue dog with strugglesor problems, what sort of
little tips would you have forthem in terms of maybe ditch the
bowl, ditch the routine, ditchthe walk, because it is going to
be different.
I like that you sort of touchedbase on that.
(12:34):
Really, it's going to bedifferent to some other trainers
that are out there and I knowthat big breeds, especially like
Bonnie.
A lot of people would go toaversive or police dog style
trainers for a dog like that,maybe using chains or correction
collars or sort of prongs andand tools.
Really, what tips would youhave surrounding that?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I think that the most important thing and this not
just for rescue dogs, for any,any dog that you, that you have
it's the relationship you havewith your dog is the most
important thing to you.
Know, because you want to be ateam, you know you want to be
each other's companions, youwant to have that, that sort of
mutual trust and affection, andthat doesn't come about
(13:21):
naturally through, like you say,like kind of the, the use of
aversives, and I can understandthe human temptation to go in
that direction.
When you've got a big, powerfulanimal that you are worried
could potentially do some damageor that you know has done
damage in the past, and you knowyou're riddled with anxiety
about what if it happens on mywatch or what have you.
I know I can understand thatthe people could, could be sort
(13:45):
of persuaded that that would be.
You, you know a necessarycourse of action, but not only
is it not necessary, it'sactually not as effective.
It's just, you know, if weactually rewind that and and
forget that idea and we actuallyfocus on building a
relationship, building that um,mutual trust with your dog, then
(14:11):
you, you get much betterresults and much more reliable
results.
You know that I am five footthree, sub 50 kilos and I have
this sleeping, snoring giantbreed dog and and I can walk
here safely, you know, on my own, and that is not through use of
(14:35):
force or that she has to do asshe's told.
It's because she wants to move,move with me, she wants to work
with me.
We are a team and so that thatmakes her a joy to live with and
a joy to train.
And we, you know, we have amuch happier existence together
than um, than if we, than if weweren't playing games.
(14:57):
Um, and I mean, like I say,she's enormous and that means
we've got an awful lot of foodthat we can play with every day.
So it it makes it very easy tobuild that relationship and
train using games, because, Imean, I don't need to worry
about thinking, oh, she's goingto be given loads of treats and
things, I just use the foodshe's going to eat anyway and we
(15:17):
can put that value into thethings that I want her to learn
to have value for, um.
So it's, it's just, it's verysimple stuff really.
It just works it's completely.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
For me, it's common sense.
So much of it, yeah, but what Ihave learned in the recent
world is common sense is notthat common and actually it's
better to help and to teach andto coach.
So, with that in mind, I wantto just reiterate to everyone if
you've got a rescue dog, if youknow of a rescue centre, if you
know of a rescue centre that isin need of help, if you know of
a volunteer for a rescue centre, an employee of a rescue centre
(15:51):
, a managing director of arescue centre, someone who is
helping rescue dogs anywhere inthe world, from Spain to New
Zealand, australia, right downto the depths of Devon, where we
live If it's physical resources, they can come past the centre
and collect them.
If it's feasible.
If it's not a physical resourceand it's a digital resource,
something that you want, acourse or something that we can
(16:11):
help you with and we've got somany good rescue dog resources
they are completely free to youand we're going to make sure we
take care of you.
So please, please, please,please, please, do reach out to
us.
Head over to absolute-dogscom,fill in the help form or email
us or touch base with us, and wewant to help rescue dogs.
So, alice, I'm going to leavewith one tip for rescue dogs,
and my tip is going to be beforeyou ever get your rescue dog,
(16:34):
do your research.
Do your research on the rescue,do your research on the type of
dog that you want.
And I'm going to give an example.
I was doing a little puppyparty.
This was about 15 years ago.
A lady had two Jack looked atthem and I thought how do I tell
her she's got two murderers saton her lap?
Because, ultimately, jackRussell Terriers are bred to
kill bite.
It's a different kind of biteand, as much as they are
(16:57):
gorgeous little dogs, they arebred with a job in mind.
And I think it's reallyimportant, equally with the
Border Collie, that the ladysaid yeah, yeah, this is a
perfect pet dog, came from afamily.
Both parents are pet dogs.
If you got one that just sitsand sleeps and curls up on the
sofa, then you did get yourselfa dud.
Border collies are bred to workand they're bred to do a job,
and for me, my border collies doa job, even if it's brave
(17:18):
herding the chickens post spinalsurgeries and post spinal
problems, and so for me, it'sreally really vital that your
dog has a job so brave's jobeven as a rehab dog and a dog
who's in like spinal care.
She has a job so Brave's jobeven as a rehab dog and a dog
who's in like spinal care.
She has a job and her job is tolook after our chickens and
that is her job and she takes itseriously.
She is very diligent aboutmaking sure everyone goes to bed
.
I want you to think about doingyour research.
(17:41):
Get your free resources.
There's loads of free resources.
You're better to take your time.
Henry Ford says fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Let's not fail a rescue dog,because there are enough
failures out there already.
We're here to help you succeed.
What would your tip be, alice,for rescue dogs or rescue dog
owners or rescue dog volunteersor centres all over the world?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Get the resources and start with games-based training
from day one.
Training from day one, but alsoI mean if you can then jump
into the community as well,because actually sometimes you
know dog training or findingyour feet with a brand new dog,
a dog that's maybe got a bit ofan odd history to it.
It can be a lonely space, itcan.
You can easily feel overwhelmedif you are, if you don't have
(18:26):
some support around you.
So if you can get into gamesclub, if you can get into PDT
club, if you can get into PDTClub, if you can join in the
community, you're going to besurrounded by people who have
also rehomed rescue dogs, haveyou know, overcome training
struggles, and who've got hugeamounts of knowledge and tips to
share, and who can just bethere to support you and help
you along your way and help youmake a success of that
(18:48):
relationship.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Absolutely super Guys .
That was this episode of theSex and Squirrel podcast.
Please share it with rescueowners, rescue centres, anybody
who's been involved in rescue atany level.
We are here to help.
Thank you, alice, and thewonderful Bonnie, who I know is
at your feet, for joining us.
It's been a pleasure and I knowthere are more sessions
together.
Make sure you share the podcast.
(19:10):
It is your duty, it is ourmission and we'll see you next
week.
Remember, stay sexy.
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