I've lived and worked with dogs for over 40 years. Our family currently share our home with six dogs. In the last 7 years we have adopted three whippets, Moth, Lily and Maggie, Archie the lurcher, Betty the staffie-x and Finn the spaniel x collie x terrier.

 

Archie is a jack-russell x collie x whippet who came to us at 5 months. The more he grew, the more he taught me about life with a teenage dog, and how to manage a deeply troubled dog who was damaged as a puppy. He has helped us all understand what it is to live with a teenage boy - the chaos, noise, (smells) and moods!

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We have shared our home with over 35 dogs in the last 20 odd years. Some of our fosters have stayed less than a week before finding their forever home, some have lived with us for over 15 years. We've lived with blind, deaf, disabled dogs and dogs who have had every behaviour problem imaginable. Slowly, over the years, I have developed the Thinking-Dog method, by studying the dogs we've lived with and working with clients' dogs.

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I started my childhood with Golden Retrievers and Springer spaniels, but once we'd discovered whippets, we knew we would always have one in our lives. I have a soft-spot for sight-hounds, which extended to staffies when we adopted Betty, the staffie-x.

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In November 2012, we fostered Betty, who had been abandoned in South Lincolnshire. We were soon smitten by her, and she has found her home with us. Through her, we became involved with Safe and Sound, a charity who work to get dogs out of pound kennels and into rescue. In September of 2013, Betty and I were delighted to be asked to be patrons of Safe and Sound. Betty even has her own Facebook page! 

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The most recent addition to the Ember Paws Den was Finn, a spaniel x terrier x collie. He's taught us a lot about life with a terrier-x - the fun, persistence and hard work that can be needed to integrate a fizzy dog into a calm household. In just a few months, he went from excitable teen to working with us as a Buddy Dog with dogs who have issues.

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Our dogs teach me new things every day. They have all had troubled lives in the past, but consistency, kindness and Thinking-dog have helped them become calm, confident and happy companions.