Six dogs

Dear friends,
Whenever someone calls me for help or sends me a message asking for advice, I will send out the following answer.
Hi there,
Allow me to give you some more information about my work.
In 2005 I stopped with what is called “dog training classes” , having discovered that creating a harmonious interaction between dogs and humans has nothing to do with dog training.
The way I started working from then onwards goes as follows.
1. It is my opinion that if a human being decides to adopt a dog, the first thing the human being has to learn is how to communicate correctly with the dog.
Communication with a dog runs along the lines of energy, behaviour and body language.
Dogs do NOT speak English or any other verbal language.
Dogs are certainly not human beings with four legs. Dogs are animals. Dogs are predators. Dogs are scavengers. Dogs are used to live in a pack where there is a pack leader. According to me it is cruel to treat dogs as if they are human beings.
2. As soon as the human has learned how to communicate correctly with the dog, we can start with the education of the dog. What we are aiming at is that we educate the dog in such a way that (s)he is respecting the human as her/his pack leader. In order to achieve that, the human has to learn how to behave like a canine pack leader. This has most of all to do with humans learning how to act with calm assertive energy and how to offer guidance and leadership. No nervous wreck who only wants to spoil the dog is able to act like a pack leader. No pack leader offers needy love.
3. As soon as the dog respects the human as pack leader and pays attention when the human asks for attention, then and only then, can we start with whatever training you want. This can be man work, tracking, flyball, agility, you name it.
The result of all this is that the human learns how to live consciously with a canine.
This higher level of personal consciousness easily spreads into the daily life of the human and all those around her/him.
This is a beautiful and very rewarding result.
A result that is quite different from the opinion we had in the past about “dog training”. It was assumed that the human did nothing wrong and that the “bad” dog had to be trained in order to become a “good” dog. That is not true.
More than 90 percent of the people who came to my dog training schools, had problems with their dogs.
I could never offer them the solution for the problems they had themselves (according to me) created for their dogs.
I came to conclusion that I could only help my clients on a one-to-one basis, teaching them what to do and how to act in their homes.
I was making less money than before but I found a much greater degree of satisfaction in my work.
That is how I have been working since then.
This can lead to very rewarding results both for humans and for canines, BUT ONLY IF the human is willing to learn, willing to leave her/his comfort zone and willing to discover a new kind of consciousness. If the human is not willing to take those steps I will unfortunately not be able to help her/him.
How long does it take before we see results?
Sometimes a couple of sessions with me, but sometimes it takes more than a year, depending on the client’s willingness to learn, to leave her/his comfort zone and start discovering new territories.
If you want to make an appointment just call.
In the mean time I invite you to visit my website and my blog.
Kindest regards from Bruno

Mil Amores

Dear friends,

Twelve years ago, it was on a Monday evening, I got a phone call from a Dutch lady.
- "Am I speaking with Bruno?"
- "Yes you are," I said.
- "I have a Labrador who attacks everyone and every dog. People told me to have him put to sleep. Before I do that I am looking for someone who would be willing to adopt him. Can I come and show him to you?"
- "Yes you can. Please come right away," I answered.
When she arrived the lady could barely control a pulling and barking "monster" standing on his hind legs at the end of a tense leash. I handed her one of my leashes with a half-check collar and asked to switch it with the leash she was using on her dog. Taking my leash from her I witnessed the most amazing transformation of a "monster" into a dog who responded to everything I asked him to do. Immediately I told the lady I was more than willing to adopt the beautiful Labrador.... if my other dogs agreed to adopt him too. Taking him inside our compound I asked my wife to take our other two dogs to the very end of our training grounds. On my signal we both took off the leashes, our two dogs approached the Labby and immediately they all started to "play". Everything was more than ok for them.
Whereupon I told the lady her dog could stay.
"Can I say goodbye to him ?", she asked.
I explained to her the best thing she could do was to send me the papers of the dog and leave without having another look at him.
That is exactly what she did.
My wife baptized our new Labby "Baerli" what is the Swiss-German word for "small bear" or "Beerke" in Flemish and "Osito" in Spanish.
Observing every move of our new dog it became quite clear to me how he reminded me of my father.
The way he ate, drank, slept, breathed, walked, jumped, looked, ran, sat, lied down, stood, barked, always brought back memories of my father who had died in 1978.
Eight months after his adoption Baerli, who had been destined to be put to sleep, became champion in an agility competition in Alicante.
Later on he would obtain another four titles in agility, beating the Border Collier opposition during other competitions all over Spain.
Unfortunately he was then infected by the sand fly and I had to retire him from competition. The Leishmaniosis illness attacked his joints what prevented him from jumping.
But we kept on living and working together as a real team. I always felt good to have him with me and he always wanted to accompany me. His former owner had described him as a dog who attacked everyone but with me he was a most stable dog. Many, many times I took him along when working with clients and their dogs.
One day my wife had a session with a tarot lady. After the session she was so enchanted that she prompted me to go and see the same lady for a session.
I was not surprised when this tarot lady told me how my father was contacting me with the help of my Labby. I confirmed it and said that I knew that already.
The years went by and Baerli's walks became shorter and shorter as he was suffering from arthritis.
When it became impossible for him to walk I took him along to the vet and sent him to the eternal hunting fields.
I was not afraid to show my tears to the vet. Although we have known each other for years he hugged me for the first time.
Having buried my dog in a clean white sheet, I put a big bunch of wild flowers on his grave.
These flowers are called "Mil Amores" in Spanish.
The English translation of the Spanish name is "A Thousand Loves".
I am very grateful for everything Baerli/Beerke has given me.
He gave me A Thousand Loves.

With love and blessings from Brunothedoglistener