Hello

Hi. I have been lurking on this forum for a few weeks and have been delighted by the level of knowledge and civilised behaviour of the members. Thank you for allowing me to join you.

I live in the UK in the New Forest, was born in France and am female and the wrong side of 70. My dogs are lurchers, one male, Dylan, two females, Sophie and Rose. Our fourth dog is Ollie, a dachshund/Jack Russell cross who belongs to my husband. My interest is very much in understanding how our dogs think and react so that we can keep them happy and sort out any problems as they crop up. Getting Rose and Sophie entailed a steep learning curve as they were strays who ended up in the pound before a rescue I used to foster for took them on. Cue buying lots of books, trawling the internet and using a fantastic behaviourist to help with Rose's fear biting (she has shown no signs of being aggressive for three years now).

Reading the training threads here made me realise I have become lazy and have stopped training properly. I also had a set-back last week when I did a bit of heel/sit/stay with Rose and turned round too quickly on seeing she was creeping after me. She just fled from my body language. I am looking forward to being kept up to scratch if/when I go wrong again.