Me with Phoenix
I have had dogs for as long as I can remember, starting with Nell a Staffordshire Bull terrier when I was a child, through a number of working Police Dogs. At one time I had four working or retired Police Dogs in the house. At present I have just Phoenix a Labrador.
Police Career
I served as a police officer for 35 years. I joined the Metropolitan Police in 1967 serving at West End Central police station, policing Soho and Mayfair. In 1969 I applied for, and was selected, for a posting to Scotland Yards’ Special Patrol Group where I served through some interesting times, often along side police dogs assisting the SPG, until 1975 when I transferred to Hampshire Constabulary to enhance the quality of life for my family.
Police Dog Handler
After a period in the Isle of Wight in 1977 I applied for and was accepted as a member of the Dog Section. As a result I moved to Aldershot to provide dog cover across the county which I did until retirement in 2002.
During my service on the dog section I worked patrol dogs who were trained in tracking, searching for people in buildings and in the open. Searching for lost and hidden property, public order and manwork (dealing with non-compliant offenders either fleeing or offering violence to resist arrest). All patrol dogs were available for use in the dog section display team and in other public relations scenarios. One dog in particular was trained as a road safety dog to visit schools and assist the traffic division road safety team to teach school children the Green Cross Code. I also worked drug detection dogs.
Acco and Gaspode
My most notable Police Dogs were:
Ben – German Shepherd Dog (GSD) Patrol Dog.
Acco – GSD Patrol Dog. Drug detection and member of road safety team.
Gaspode – GSD Patrol Dog.
(Mad) Jack – GSD Patrol Dog.
Cocoa – Chocolate Labrador bitch. Drug detection.
Bramble – Springer Spaniel. Drug detection.
All dog training in Hampshire Police is play-reward based with a view to keeping the dogs happy and stress free using the dogs natural instincts to achieve the desired result. I was able to experiment with methods of ‘dog training’ more in keeping with the way canines of any type organise their lives and interact in the wild without the ‘help’ of humans. The results were amazing and as a result in 1988 I was commended by the Chief Constable. To be fair it was my dog Acco who had done all the hard work and taught me so much so it was with great pleasure I saw that he had also been named on the certificate. The work continued (and still does). I was given a brief to raise the profile of Hampshire Police Dog Section. As a result in 1999 Hampshire became the first, and I think still, the only dog section to be awarded the Charter Mark.
Dog Listener
I became aware of the work of Jan Fennell and how she used the dogs own hidden language to make for happier less stressed dogs and owners. Having read the books I realised it was similar to the methods I had been using. Jan had brought the system into the public domain. Jan’s books are a good basic introduction to the method. I went to Lincolnshire where I met Jan. I attended both a Foundation and Advanced Course in Canine Communication and gained certificates in both. Since 2004 I have been a full time Dog Listener – a job I love. I’ve helped hundreds of dogs and their owners solve behavioural problems and look forward to helping many more. Some call it ‘dog training’, I call it ‘mending dogs’!
PURE Dog Listeners
In July 2009 together with a colleague, Caroline Spencer, I founded an organisation of Dog Listeners, called PURE Dog Listeners. I had a long and fruitful association with Jan Fennell as a self employed ‘Highly Recommended Associate Dog Listener’. We felt the time was now right to take what we were doing to another level. We are a small but expanding group with stringent entry requirements. On forming Pure we expected to be a group of two or three but were approached by a number of other qualified Dog Listeners who were happy to do what was required to join us. We have some exceptional dog trainers on board and also have close links with our friends in the Southern Hemisphere and other countries. Who knows what the future holds – but it’s looking good.