My first dog was an English Springer Spaniel named Miss Trinidad Lady, Trini for short.
My dad got her for my sister and me when I was around nine or ten years old, and there is no doubt that she was from a puppy farm when I think back.
She was 'hyper, naughty, didn't listen and destructive' but I loved her. She hated men, loud noises and a host of other things. I remember once when she attempted to climb the chimney. We came home from school, and there was soot everywhere, and she was no longer white with brown patches, she was black! At that point, my mum said we had to find her a different home where she wasn't left alone for so long. She made my mum cry most days because she repeatedly destroyed our house.
However, we kept her until my mum and dad separated and then Trini moved to the Isle of Wight to live with my grandparents. It was the most heart-wrenching thing I had to do in my younger days.
Sadly, what I recognise now is that Trini had severe separation anxiety as well as noise phobias. She should never have been left alone until she'd gotten the appropriate support to help her through it. We should have slowed down and listened to her. She was trying to talk to us all the time, and she was not naughty; she was suffering.
I always knew I wanted to work with animals, dogs in particular, but I waited for over thirty years before doing so. Storm was my 40th birthday present from my husband. I did all the research because I wanted to make sure his money would not feed the back street breeders, and I wanted the right dog for my family. I eventually found Storm's breeder who I think may have just been starting out, but she ticked the boxes of what I should be looking for in a breeder, according to the Kennel Club. She offered all the relevant testing for Staffy's, kept the pups in a home environment, offered advice and a Facebook page because she wanted to keep touch with all of the puppies. Storm also came with a contract; if things didn't work out, then she had to be returned. Needless to say, she did not go back and I ended up with the best birthday present I'd ever received.
When we picked Storm up, I was so excited; we travelled to Bradford from Cardiff to collect her. I knew I would do things differently with her than we did with Trini. I was going to make sure I socialised her, trained her and would do the very best by her. She would be my companion (she was MY birthday present after all) and live with us for the next 15 years or more, so why wouldn't I?
I attended puppy classes for around three years, and it's during that time I decided that I wanted to go back to work, I did not want to go back to managing people like I'd done for the previous 16 years. I wanted to be my own boss and ultimately wanted to realise my dream of working with animals. But what area should I work in?
I had thought about dog walking and discussed the idea of going into business with a good friend. We thought it would be brilliant; we'd be out with dogs all day; how hard could it be? Luckily for me (although I believe everything happens for a reason), the trainer I had been going to caught wind of the fact that I may be looking at dog walking. She was the one that pushed me into starting up my own business, and that's when Reservoir Dogs Llanishen was born. Without her push and my friends encouragement, whom I established the business with, I would not have been able to do it.
So this is where I am today, I spend every spare minute of the day (when not rushing around after my 3 boys) listening to podcasts, reading books, blogs and researching for my studies. I am not bored; I don't find it mundane I LOVE it. Finally, I have found my calling in life.
This is why I want to share what I've learned about dogs with you so you can have the best relationship with your furry friend.
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