Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello.
Welcome Julie.
I'm super excited to have you here.
Julie: Thank you.
I, I am very excited to be here in your, um, your new venture,
Anke: it sounds like.
Yeah.
I'm like crazy puppy excited about it all.
Love it.
So, Why don't we just start, let people know where you're based, you know, what's
your business because you are a pro, and then we'll, we'll have a little dig into
Julie: the work you do.
Perfect.
So I am based in Edinburgh in Scotland.
That's where I am right now.
And the sun is shining and the sky is blue.
It's amazing.
Um, however, I do do all of my work online, which is, um, a bit of a.
Mind blow for a lot of people because I work with dogs and I help people
with their dogs and I don't always get to meet their dogs, which in itself
is, can bring up a lot of questions.
Um, however, I've been doing it now online for about four years and it
is super effective, um, way more effective actually in the long term.
Um, To actually meet your dog that in that first instance, because
very quickly, You will realize that I'm not here to fix your dog.
I'm here to help you.
I'm here to share information with you that will allow you to
change your behavior with your dog.
So there's actually no reason for me to see your dog.
And oftentimes when you, you'll know the people, I mean, when I say
this, I won't name them, but it's very egocentric and it's all about
the trainer and how great they are and how they're gonna fix your dog.
Um, so yeah.
That's, oh, I love that.
Because
Anke: I mean, in my own experience, it's definitely on this end of
the leash where the shoes are.
Julie: Well, that's where, it's not necessarily where the issue is, but
it's certainly where the solution is.
Yes.
Because you can't do anything what's out there, but you can do something yourself.
That's where we have, that's where we have some choice.
So
Anke: what are the mo like?
I mean, I would imagine people would be kind of surprised initially to find that,
oh, so you are helping me with my dog and you don't even wanna see the dog.
That's funny.
I love it.
So what's the most common, um, issue people come to you for?
Julie: Wow.
Yes.
What's the most common?
I would say there's two, two main things.
Um, reactivity, um, in all its guises, whatever that might mean.
And probably, and it's kind of the same thing, but maybe just the
narrative slightly different is, um, is barking, excessive barking.
Um, I would say that's probably the two.
Oh, and separation anxiety.
It's probably three, um, main things that people come to me with.
And as I say to them, you know, when they talk about, well,
you know, you need to see it.
I'm like, I believe you.
I believe you.
I don't need to see it in action.
I don't wanna put your dog in that stressful situation any more times
than is absolutely necessary.
I
Anke: believe you.
I love that.
And so, how, How would you describe your approach different from what
people might have heard or read up on?
Like what's the
Julie: difference?
So the main difference is that we look at helping people and helping the
dogs away from where the problem is.
So if you have a reactive dog that reacts to, you know, you're out
for a walk and it's reacting to a.
Man in a black cap or a hives jacket or another dog or whatever.
Trying to work with your dog there is really, really difficult because
they are already not listening.
Yeah, yeah.
So you can distract them, you can shout louder, you can blow whistle,
you can do all these things.
Yes.
But it's just really, really difficult because they're
not listening at that point.
The only thing you can do at that point is get the hell out of there.
Keep your dog safe, show them that you're not going to put them
through this painful situation.
You know, listen to them, trust that they're feeling bad.
They're not doing it just to annoy you ever and get them out of there.
And all the work that we do is will at home, and then we
build up slowly from there.
Yeah.
I mean
Anke: that, that makes so much sense to me.
It's, it's, I remember the first time I heard this idea that my
only job was to help my dog relax.
Yeah.
'cause a relaxed dog just doesn't do stupid shit.
You know?
I thought it was so simple, but it's like, yeah, actually, if you look at everything
through that lens, it's very much that.
You know, it's like take him out of the stress and, and help them.
You know?
So where would you start then At home.
So you might like, my layer was like that.
He got bitten when he was little.
You know, I was, what I sometimes think, looking back, knowing what I
know now, I'm thinking, well, me being.
Totally panic.
Probably didn't help.
Like he would've looked at me and like, well, you are, you
can't trust you to help out here.
You know, well, you know, so the co whatever conclusion he drew
then would probably wasn't helpful.
But, you know, first time, no idea dog mom, that was all I could
do to just get him out of there.
But I was panicky, so I was not like, now I am like, I'm a pit bull to go in there.
I'll tell whatever dog off.
It's like a whole different presence, you know, 20 years later.
And it makes a difference.
Like it makes a difference.
But, but So now, as a result of that incident, he was always wary of male
dogs, especially when he was on leash and you, he couldn't go anywhere.
Right?
So where would you then, How would you start working with
me to help him with that
Julie: kind of stuff in that situation?
So the first thing I would say is that, you know, the judgment and
the, the added pressure that we put on ourselves after a situation like
that's really unhelpful and it's.
Actually really, really helpful to acknowledge that and recognize that
we are all doing the best we can.
And you know, for me to think that no dog is ever gonna attack
my dog because I know what I'm doing, it's just blatant nonsense.
It's just not true.
You know, it's like going out in a car.
You have to deal with the other idiots on the road.
Yeah, that's just the name of the game.
There's no around it.
And so if you are coming to work with me and think that all of a sudden that's
not going to be an issue, then then you know I'm not the right person for
you because we don't live in a fluffy pink world where all the other dogs are
lovely, and your dog's gonna be able to cope with every other dog in the world.
It's not gonna happen.
Okay, so let's just.
Accept that.
That's just the way of it.
So the first thing I would do is actually have that conversation, because that
conversation is really important because as long as we're thinking in our heads
about all the things that could happen, oh my God, we are gonna fix that.
Fix that, fix that.
Okay.
We we're not gonna be able to do that, but we are gonna be able to
have a plan in place that's going to help us feel more confident.
Okay.
And then the first thing I would say is, okay, you need a two week holiday.
Your dog needs a two week because your dog's adrenaline is up like this.
Your adrenaline is up like this.
So let's take a holiday.
So by holiday, I mean, um, keep.
Keep their world as small as you possibly can within the boundaries of your life.
So it depends if you live in a flat or you, you know, you
have a garden or whatever.
Um, but I would basically take a holiday for two weeks.
That would be the first thing I would do.
And during that holiday, there would be some changes that I would make at home,
around food, around, um, the throne.
We call it The Game of Thrones.
Whose throne is it?
Um, and we would do some work, some communication at home.
During that period and then, and only then now this two week period
can sometimes last months because if your dog has been stressed for four
years, two weeks might not cut it.
It's like, you know, being in a job, you know, and you've
been in that horrendous job.
We've all been there with that horrendous boss.
And you go and you go away on holiday for two weeks, you're like, Two weeks helps,
but sometimes you just need a bit more.
Um, so it depends at what level the dog is at.
And we can, through conversation, I can tell like where your dog is at.
And then after two weeks we would reassess and we'd say,
right, okay, what we're gonna do.
So yeah, without going into what would take about an hour,
Anke: The gentle nature of that and that gentle guidance.
But because it, it isn't about kind of wrapping the dog in fluffy wool.
It's very much about a gentle, calm leadership.
And that's what I really love about what I'm hearing from you.
Julie: It's exactly that gentle, calm leadership, um, and going with, by
that leadership, it's not dominance, it's not dictatorship, it's listening.
Really, it's listening and saying, okay, so next time, so
say this has happened, right?
And you have your two weeks off.
And I say, right, get out your lead.
And the dog either goes boom, boom, boom, or hides.
Then we're gonna put the lead back down and we're gonna wait at least an hour
and we're gonna bring it out again.
And we're gonna keep doing that until the dog can cope with the
idea of leaving the house with four paws on the ground in a calm way.
That's step one.
Because if your dog can't do that, then they're gonna be reactive
when they go out, basically.
That's the game that that is what will happen because they're
already getting themselves ready.
They're like, okay, we're going, we're off.
Right.
I'm on it.
What do you need me to do?
Anke: That is so true, like, because I see the difference
now with Master Puppy, right?
Because she has this calm temperament.
Right?
And also she's big.
Nobody messes with her.
Other people grab their little dogs and run off.
It's really funny right now we like come along walking like other people.
You can see even I've seen the guy with a, with a German Shepherd, like hide.
You know, I mean, she's big, right?
But she's just turned a year and she doesn't have any of these
issues because she's calm, she doesn't like, okay, we got on.
Oh, great.
You know, so whole different energy.
So she doesn't pull, she doesn't get.
Like people bark, like dogs bark at her.
Cats run by not my problem.
'cause she starts out calm, like it's a whole different temperament than
the little dogs who are like, let's go and, you know, take on the world
that, that, but that difference in energy makes all like and is true.
It starts within the house.
She's, she's come.
When we are leaving, right?
And then there's no issue on the outside.
Whereas the little ones are like, oh, we cold.
We're going out.
This is gonna be fun.
You know, and it's, you know, all revved up and it's a lot more
difficult to reign that energy in.
Julie: Yeah.
And also for the, you know, the guy with the German Shepherd Shepherd or the other
dogs that go past, you know, it's helpful to recognize that he might be doing that
because he knows his dog is reactive.
So he's like, okay, I'm gonna take the sensible action here, and,
Anke: which is beautiful.
I love it.
And I've had like, you know, we've had this, you know, because I, I
really appreciate that because when I would come with Leo and other
people, Kind of could, you could see that he was getting tense and anxious
and people just like, I don't care.
My dog goes past.
Or when they then come and says, oh, well, you know, why don't you want
pe the dogs to greet each other and literally shove him in their face?
And I've always hated that.
So I, I just like give him some space for God's sake.
Right.
Julie: Yeah, my dog's friendly if I've heard Yeah.
A million
Anke: times.
Yep, yep, yep.
Yeah, exactly.
So you have a very interesting and fun way for people to find out a little bit
more about your approach and how you work.
Julie: Tell us about it.
Okay.
So yes, I do.
It is great fun.
Um, and it's uh, what I call a free, this one is called,
Three, three days of action.
So it's kind of like a challenge, but it's, we're focusing on
the action part this time.
Um, so you can come along, join me in Facebook.
Um, I do like a training video.
We have q and as, we have conversation, and it's really about being open to the
idea that there is something different to whatever you're doing at the moment.
That isn't working, that might work.
And so that's all I ask of anyone is just, you know, you can sign up,
come along with an open mind and be ready to hear something different.
And it's great.
We have a great time.
Really enjoy it.
People see results.
Literally within that three days, you know, they see a relaxing because
if you go away and actually do the things, um, I have a free ebook that's
on my website that you can download.
I always recommend people do that at the start of the three days anyway,
so you've kind of got it all there.
Um, So you can, yeah, you can literally just start day one and
um, put it into action and we'll pop
Anke: the links.
It's gonna be below wherever you're listening or watching this,
so no, it will be easy to find.
So thank you.
Thank you so much.
And uh, I love what you're doing for dogs and their people.
Julie: Thank you.
I love talking about 'em.
Anke: Awesome.
Take care.
Julie: Thanks.
Bye.
Thanks so much for listening.
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That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.