#71 Gwen Bailey - The Perfect Puppy & Puppy School

How the devil are you lovely Bookshelvers?!The dust has now settled after another fabulous DOGX and with Nat away on her holidays and corrin run off her feet it falls to Steve to host this episode SOLO (what could go wrong?). Luckily Nat and Corrin were around when we interviewed the wonderful, awesome, trail blazing human that is Gwen Bailey about her book The Perfect Puppy. We discuss her journey in dog training, the evolution of her book 'The Perfect Puppy', and the changes in training techniques over the years. She reflects on her experiences in kennels, the importance of communication with dog owners, and the impact of her work on the dog training landscape. The team and Gwen also delve into the complexities of dog training, discussing the challenges of reaching puppy owners, the impact of educational resources like books as well as the flexibility of training curriculums, and the significance of consent-based handling. We sing from the rafters about the importance of collaboration among training organisations and explore the fundamental qualities that make a good dog trainer. On top of all that we have a segment of interviews Steve did running around at lunch time at DOGX (where he mentions potatoes at least 500 times). Enjoy!Gwen Facts:Gwen worked for a leading UK national animal welfare charity from 1988-2002 and pioneered the use of dog behaviour knowledge in the rehoming of unwanted animals. She was the first person to be appointed by a national animal welfare charity as a full time Animal Behaviourist, eventually heading a team of behaviourists.Gwen has successfully solved behaviour problems in thousands of rehomed dogs, helping to prevent dogs with behavioural problems being passed from home to home and improving the rehoming success rate.Gwen has lectured at national and international conferences, run training courses for staff at animal charities around the world and has written many books & education leaflets. She is a past Chair of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and a past Trustee for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.In 2003, Gwen founded and now runs Puppy School, a large network of professionally-trained puppy tutors which is a Practitioner Member of the Animal Behaviour and Training Council. Puppy School tutors have collectively helped to have a positive training impact on more than 100,000 puppies and their owners, and continue to run excellent classes around the country. Links:The Perfect Puppy on AmazonPuppy School