Did anyone see Jan Fennell on BBC Breakfast this morning. Bill Turnbull was raving about her and reckoned that it should be compulsory that everyone that owns a dog should have one of her books. I wondered if anyone has got any of her books and what they think of them.

Many of us have strong opinions on Ms Fennells technique and theories, not all of them favourable.  It's a subject that has been 'done to death' already on these forums, a search for her name should bring most of the discussions up for you to make up your own mind.

If you do a [Search] on here (top right corner of the screen) for her you'll find plenty of opinions! ;) :D

I'm saying nowt about JF except I have no respect for people who do not practice what they preach & charge vast sums for people to have the"privilege"of hearing

i habe Jan's "Dog Listener" book, Ange, and when i first read it i thought it was the bees knees. I've since read "The Culture Cash" and a few others which quite rightly question her techniques.

i suppose at the end of the day though, if you like her techniques, and they work for you and your dog, then......

the best bit (which was more common sense than the fact it came from Jan) of the book and programme when it was on, was the ignoring your dog momentarily. Not keen on the rest of it though.....

I tried tentatively suggesting that some of her ideas were thought to be outdated at pet training last night, but it didn't go down well, they're still determined to make us go through doors first, eat first, etc etc!

Lucy, don't forget whose dog it is ;)

LucyD,

While this may ;) work with the bolshy, pushy, really confident type of dog, it could knock the confidence of quieter, more sensitive types and be counter-productive ;) ;)  at the end of the day you have to work in way that suits you and your dog :)

I don't think my dog actually gives two hoots about who eats first! On the other hand, I distinctly do give two hoots about when I eat which isn't at 6.30 in the evening - especially since I'm 100% reliably housetrained and don't need to eat before 7pm in order to go out in the garden before I go to bed and have a poo. Unlike the pup. :)

As for going through doors first, I prefer to see what I'm about to trip over so remain quite happy to walk through doors after the dog, especially if he's having a Mad Pup Half Hour.

I read her book and found it interesting but have not put anything into practice of what she suggests...

im not sure if this has changed or not, but i believe the blue cross makes sure all their potential rehomers read JF books so they can put it into practice, surely it depends on the dog which training method is most suitable though? not just one method for all

I have seen her most recent dvd - she makes it look very easy and im sure behind the scenes there is a lot of hard work going on!  I think her dvd was interesting and i suppose like anything else, you can "cherry pick" the bits out that would work for you:-)

I'd be VERY surprised if the Blue Cross are doing this.

I remember reading just about every childcare book that had ever been published when I had my first child - you don't have time to be reading "How to Do Parenting" books when the second comes along 18 months later!! - and there was nothing "wrong" in any of them. However, you tend to gravitate towards the advice that suits you and your way of thinking and Sheila Kitzinger's books were the most well thumbed in our house. Other friends chose different "gurus" but 25 years on, we've all managed to bring up reasonably well balanced adults (they do at least pay for their own rounds in the pub!!)  regardless of whose advice we relied on.

I doubt things are much different so far as dogs are concerned with it being more important to want to know how to do the best for your pup than it is to rely on any one source as an absolutely font of knowledge.  Jan Fennell has some interesting observations to make but, on the whole, I don't share her theories - ergo I don't put them into practice! 

That's ok then Dill, my 2 boys are very pushy and confident!! :-D And my puppy bitch is happy to let me do whatever I want so long as she can follow me everywhere!!

Ahh Lucy I have one like that, its so sweet and so refreshing to have a dog who actually wants to co-operate :D :D  My bolshy one always seems to be thinking, "give me one good reason - go on , just one and I'll do it, nah that's no reason"- sigh!

Exactly what I get from my 2 boys - they are just thinking 'is that treat good enough to be worth doing what I'm told?' :-D Mind you I do get tired of being tripped up in the park all the time! Makes a change from the other two who are usually specks on the horizon!

For all of the Jan Fennel fans out there ( tongue in cheek ) .....

Jan is doing a talk in Peterborough on sunday the 6th of November

Get your overdraft arranged now huh?......

will she be there with her utonagon?? (roll of the eyes)

My vet told me al the training books in the world will be of no use unless someone teaches dogs to read,lol. Shaz

LOL :D

Hi Moonmaiden.I thought it was quite an apt comment really from my vet
A question for you  how do I do all the lovely smiley faces you all post I,m not very good on the old computer as you have probably guessed but I do enjoy reading all your posts and replying to one occasionally especially when its pouring down outside again.
Shaz

I was agreeing with the vet Shaz ;)

: D without the space is :D
; ) without the space is ;)
: rolleyes : without the spaces is :rolleyes:
: O without the spaces is :O
: confused : without the spaces is
; ) without the spaces is ;)

:D like this you mean I,ll be amazed if it works

wow thanks moonmaiden
Shaz

yay :D

The only good thing to occur for me at a JF talk was the buffet!

She seems unable to answer questions properly, which I personally found very strange!

I think her books are excellent bonfire material! :D

PMSL @ Tohme :D
I must admit i cringe if i see any of her books in clients homes & if any clients have her books & are a fan of hers i then have to spend ages convincing them that really its not the best way to train & live with your dog, but often people are sucked in ......... :-(