When I first started to ride horses, in my mid-thirties, I would watch in awe as the children happily tackle almost impossible feats on the backs of ponies and whilst we know that ponies are adept at getting themselves out of trouble, it was still incredible how fearless these youngsters appeared.

Whenever the activity demands high personal risk then the junior members seem to be totally oblivious to the possibility of personal harm. This is exactly the same for our dogs, as puppies will happily trot off toward anyone or anything, including a strange dog, with absolutely no understanding that this could actually be an extremely dangerous thing to do. This is something that is less common in the natural environment, the pup's safety depending on those more experienced members of the group helping them to learn to avoid possible trouble.

In the natural world it seems ridiculous to expose young animals to danger as surely it is in the best interest of all species to protect their young, so why on earth would nature allow young animals to risk their lives in this way? The fact is that measured risks are taken and serve a practical purpose, to teach a young animal how to recognise potential danger and to survive for themselves. If, over time, they become good at problem avoidance, they could become the carers of the future

I remember, during one of my study periods in Yellowstone National Park, seeing a six month old wolf pup, who had wandered away from the family group (pack) for the third time, howling and wait to be rescued again but this time her mother set off in the opposite direction, back into the comfort of their own territory, effectively abandoning her wayward daughter this time after finally losing patience. In truth, this wise mother was allowing her daughter to learn the consequences of her own action.

Initially this may seem so dreadful but the mother had to think of the whole group and so the youngster had to learn, for herself, that wandering away from the pack means that she would be alone, not a happy or safe state for any group living animal, including people. Twenty minutes later and two miles away we watched as the pup caught up with her family, which enabled her to learn a very valuable lesson and is the reason that puppies are dispensable during their growing time and if they fail to learn they will probably perish and are of no use to the future of their species. The survival of the fittest rule always applies and as long as they are in a natural world then this rule will be essential.

I remember seeing a four month old puppy playing freely in the yard of a smallholding close to a very busy road and when I asked if they wanted to put the pup somewhere safe was told that she would learn, just as her mother had. Well, that told me! One morning a little girl, who lived on the other side of this road, spotted the puppy and enthusiastically called it to come to her. Happily and eagerly the pup, then six months of age, raced to be with the little friend. Unfortunately at that exact moment a car came along the road and the pup was killed, something that the little girl and the poor driver of the car will never forget. The risks this pup was exposed to, (being left to learn for itself the dangers of the road), were not acceptable because it had no frame of reference for man made danger.

As it is us that introduce unnatural elements in the world, it is our responsibility to protect ourselves and those beings that we are responsible for, from them.

In any one year over 100 animals are unnecessarily killed by cars in Yellowstone National Park.

To summarise; all young animals are dispensable in nature until they have learnt to become valuable members of the family unit and then they take their place within the group. Caution comes later, with age and experience, experience and knowledge of all possible dangers, to both the individual and the group. Based on that experience, a certain level of responsibility is given which helps create a good leader able to take calculated risks, something that our dogs can never do for themselves in our unfamiliar world.

Understanding the particular risks of the human world is your job, based on your experience and by using 'Amichien� Bonding' you will gain your dog's complete confidence, and he will be able to entrust his safety totally to a group member who understands the risks in our world.........you!

Jan Fennell

20th February 2012