My Amichien Bonding journey began with my daughter getting a rescue eighteen month old Weimaraner, and within days it became clear she needed help. She began with a local dog trainer who after two sessions with her dog told my daughter he was untrainable. She was by now desperate as she could only walk him at our home which is surrounded by fields. Any other dog set him off in an aggressive hell bent ‘I’m gonna get you’ mentality, dragging our daughter behind him. I did some research and we found the Amichien Bonding method on line. My daughter immediately implemented it to the letter and Cooper became her pride and joy, a calm, gentle giant, polite and composed in all situations. An utter transformation.
Of course what we all learned from watching her go through this process was that it was US the humans that needed to be trained, not the dog! Amichien Bonding calls on every member of the family to adhere to the dog communication method, so that you are giving clear signals to your dog, so they feel safe and calm in your care, knowing that you have it all covered.
I’m so glad I’d had this introduction as two years later, I rescued our little Cocker Spaniel, Millie. I was able to implement all that I had picked up from our daughter, and all went pretty well. Then we decided we wanted a second rescue to add to our family and along came Pippa into our lives, a boisterous, relentless, bundle at fifteen months and we needed help!
Julie came to visit and reminded us that we needed to be consistent, that the dogs will sense when things are bothering us humans, and wonder if they are still ‘safe’ or do they need to become leader as we are faltering. This sense of unease in them showed in questioning behaviour, like chewing anything I left lying around, and the most awful fights which broke out between the two girls. What Julie taught us afresh was that the dogs don’t want to be pack leader, how can they interpret our world, they can’t, but if we are not seen to be in charge of our own lives, they immediately sense they have to ask questions to be sure what to do next.
So we went back to all the basics, and now, whenever there is a change in circumstances; my husband working abroad, getting ill, me hurting my back, anything that causes the girls to feel there is a wobble in the family order, we go straight back to the basics for a few days.
We also go back to the basics when we see in them their behaviour changing, and notice that we have slipped on some of our doggy communication, accidentally elevating them in the pack without noticing. Several times I was on the phone to Julie calling ‘Help’ and she listened with patients and insight, revealing to me the simple truth that the girls had become confused due to our circumstances, and that we just needed to understand this, and help them see again that all is well in their lives. Always go back to basics when there is any disturbance in the family ‘force’.
The wonderful thing with this method is that it is you that has to change, and that whenever you slip into old ways, you just go back to basics, make sure you are giving your furry companion the correct messages, and calm and order is once again restored.
Millie and Pippa have not had a fight in over a year and we love to see them snuggled up in their bed together, they are clearly very dear friends now. They often play where they gently mouth each other, biting each other’s ears, legs, mouths. This play is so good to see as it’s their way to show each other that they trust each other completely. That’s all because they know now that we have their world covered, and they can just relax and do what dogs do, eat, sleep and play.
