The Dog Listener: Learning the language of your best friend Paperback – Import, 27 November 2002

Born in Fulham, England, Jan quickly found an affinity and a respect for other animals. Many of her happiest moments as a child were in the company of horses, dogs and other furry friends, and living in London meant that these were not as often as she would have liked. In fact, there was a long period of time when she found herself without their company, in particular the time spent in the Royal Navy as a teenager.

However, this was to change after marriage and a move to the quiet countryside of Lincolnshire, situated in the Midlands of England. A rescue dog called Purdey, Jan’s first dog since her childhood pet Shane (an impressive Border Collie) had joined her, her husband and children not long before. Those who have read Jan’s inspirational bestseller ‘The Dog Listener’ will know that this situation did not end happily, and although for a while it did put Jan off ever having a dog again, she was soon convinced by her husband to get a Springer Spaniel, whom they named Kelpie. This started a love affair with the breed, which remains undiminished to this day. Jan’s interest in training dogs began with Kelpie, and although she even ran classes in obedience during the late seventies and early eighties, she always had reservations about the methods used. She would often object to what she saw as the more “confrontational” aspects of dog training. It was not until she saw a demonstration by Monty Roberts, the world famous “Horse Whisperer”, that she finally realised the direction she must take.

Taking on board the Robert’s ideal of gaining trust and cooperation from horses by communicating with them in their own language, Jan set out to do likewise with dogs. This involved years of studying; wolf behaviour, that of her own dogs and the teachings of Monty, all of this while studying at University and raising two children on her own. She began to realise that the similarities between her own dogs and wolf packs were astounding. Once she established the importance of the lead wolves, or Alphas, she looked for the same in her own house. She discovered that Sasha, her beautiful, black German Shepherd, was fulfilling that role. Jan tried to mimic Sasha’s behaviour, and found to her amazement that her dogs changed. Whereas before they would pull her around when on the lead, they were much calmer. Similarly, the tendency to run off and not come back diminished greatly. All those who knew her would often comment on how “well behaved” her dogs were.

A lot of her work was done by trial and error, but after a few years she had created “Amichien Bonding”, a technique that started out with humble beginnings, with some friends asking her to help them, but which is now being used all over the world. The book “ ‘The Dog Listener’ ” and its accompanying television series have earned her praise and respect from people everywhere. The method is simple, yet highly effective, and even the most sceptical cannot argue when they see the proof with their own eyes. Jan, together with her son Tony, have saved the lives of countless dogs, and the sanity of countless dog owners. Her method is a revolution, and her personality and enthusiasm are matched by her respect for the animals she loves and works with every day. She has just finished writing the follow-up book to the bestseller ‘The Dog Listener’ – which has already been translated into several languages – entitled ‘The Practical Dog Listener’. In all this, Jan’s feet remain firmly on the ground; her goal has always been the improvement of the already special relationship between Man and his best friend.