I often have dog owners say that they just don't have time to do 'Amichien� Bonding' with their dogs, as they have very busy lives. So finding time to put aside to 'train' in this way is impossible.

Firstly I have to say that I fully understand that life has become far more hectic than ever before and that we all have tasks and responsibilities but those that say they don't have time obviously believe Amichien Bonding to be similar to traditional methods and do not realise it is simply incorporated into our everyday lives.

At a Talk some time ago, I remember a young man in the audience telling me that the only way to stop his dog from pulling was to put a choke chain on it. 'So your dog does not pull on the lead anymore?' I asked. 'Oh, yes he does' came the reply.

There was a pause and I asked how he considered that a choke chain worked if his dog was still pulling on the lead and the young man explained that he and his Dad were able to jerk hard on the chain to haul the dog back to them. 'So how many times do you do this when you are out for a walk?' I asked and was told that he really didn't know but he could guess at every few metres.

I then asked how he thought that the choke chain had actually 'worked' for him only to be told that there was no other way of correcting the behaviour without wasting time on specific training. The point seemed to be missed that the behaviour hadn't been corrected at all.

I then asked how long this "quick fix" corrective tool had been employed for, so far, and was told, with a completely straight face, 'eight years'. I also asked if his dog had ever suffered from neck, shoulder or back problems, only to be told that this breed of dog is prone to suffer from these types of injury so my question wasn't fair. I then asked what they did each time that the dog began to choke and cough, to which he replied that it was the dog's own fault, so they just ignored it.

What an awful lot of time wasted on those walks, time that actually didn't actually contribute anything towards changing the dog's mind about who was in charge and leading "the hunt". If they had actually had taken some of that precious time to work with their dog, establish hierarchy and some boundaries they would have corrected that behaviour in rather less than eight years!

We are always being told that it is so good and important to make time for ourselves. If it's so important, how about putting some special time aside to work on your relationship with your dog? Believe me; he/she will love you for it.

Although the young man at the Talk seemed completely reluctant to see the possibilities open to him and his lovely dog, I live in hope that in his private moments he may realise that jerking a dog around is not only completely unsuccessful and cruel, it also makes what should be a real pleasure an absolute chore, something that both parties would choose to avoid, wherever possible. That is such a shame!

What a waste!

Jan Fennell