Experts’ tips for bringing a pooch home
Porter, a former Army major who lost his wife of 47 years, Carol, to ovarian cancer last year.
Knowing how difficult it would be after her death, the couple talked about the best ways for him to cope.
Alan, 72, said: “Carol and I talked about how I would move forward and the decision was getting a puppy. The name Carol wanted was Molly.”
The couple had moved to a village near York shortly before Carol’s death, and four months later Alan got Molly.
“I’ve got to now start doing things without Carol and that includes looking after a puppy,” he says. “Because of my recent bereavement, I needed time to get my head around things. But a pup is a means of breaking down barriers when you move into a new area.
“The bond we have now proves it was the right decision. She gives me companionship and she clings to my ankles no matter where I go.”
But when Alan and Molly, a chocolate labrador arrive at Chatsworth House, she isn’t too keen on going for walks.
Oli explains: “Alan didn’t feel ready to go into town and talk to people. He felt it was too soon. He does have a good network of family and friends, but he was in mourning and Molly will have picked up on that. Dogs know everything about you from your smell.
“When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisone and the dog can smell it, so Molly will have felt Alan’s sadness. But we got Alan to take Molly to the cafe at Chatsworth House, and people were coming up and stroking Molly and talking to Alan and I think he got quite a lot out of it. Molly got Alan engaged with life again.
“Getting a dog forces you to get up and go walking and talk to people. And the other thing is that we produce oxytocin when we cuddle a dog. Oxytocin is the love hormone which women get a huge wave of when they give birth.
“It’s an amazing natural chemical which lowers blood pressure and makes you calmer. So if you are prepared for the hard work, getting a puppy can be very healing,” Oli explains.
Alan isn’t alone in being helped by his new four-legged friend. Katie says: “People get puppies for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes it’s a tester for having a baby, or people have empty-nest syndrome, or they’re having personal struggles. People do have a need to nurture, and dogs provide for that really well. “They can be very healing and very good for you – as long as you can cope with the huge amount of care that’s needed.” Hannah, who trains 58 puppies per week with her not-forprofit company Pawfect Dog Sense, adds: “Some of our contributors have very traumatic stories. It was the most emotional puppy class I’ve ever run. Everyone was bawling their eyes out.” The show also features Dhina Pom Bambi Mandan, 29, from Birmingham, whose boyfriend Sunny Sorroy, 29, from Kent, bought her a puppy – pomeranian Bambi – when she became depressed after her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Dhina says: “I had to give up work because of the MS, so I’d get up late, and mope around. I had no pattern to my day. I was really angry and unhappy.
“The MS leaves me fatigued and I didn’t think I’d manage a dog. But Bambi’s so small, I can just take her for gentle half-hour walks which are manageable. I’m so much happier since Sunny bought me Bambi. She’s perfect.”
Bambi did need some intensive training, though – to stop her eating poo. Other problems included Ronnie the bulldog who bites everything, including owner Katie McMyler, 24, from Bolton, and her daughter Mia, five.
But the trainers use positive reinforcement to teach him good behaviour – so he’s not in the dog house.
■ Puppy School, Channel 4, Friday, 8pm Puppies are hard work ■ Get your puppy from a good, responsible breeder, and never from a puppy farm.
■ Make sure you get the right breed for your circumstances. Think about what the dog was originally bred to do for a living because that will tell you what its personality will be like. For example, cocker spaniels run around like idiots since that’s what they’re was bred to do. Don’t get a breed just because it’s in Game of Thrones.
■ Remember that your puppy is doing what comes naturally. Puppies bite because they’re working out how their teeth work, for example.
■ Make no mistake – playfighting is rehearsal for real fighting. You don’t let your children fight because you know it will end in tears, so why do we let puppies? Thinking that dogs will be dogs is lazy ownership. If you encourage that behaviour, it may come back and bite you on the bum when they’re older.
■ Practise your recall. Always make sure you are the most attractive choice in the park. If your puppy is distracted by another dog, or a sandwich that somebody dropped, you need to be even more attractive than those things so that they come back to you.
■ Don’t judge your puppy by human standards. Dogs don’t understand wrong versus right – they only understand safety and danger. And don’t think it’s cute or funny if your dog looks guilty after a telling-off. If they’re looking down and refusing to look you in the eye. It’s not because they feel guilty, it’s because they’re stressed.
■ Involve the whole family in getting a puppy and make sure everybody wants one. Talk to your breeder about your lifestyle and work out what sort of puppy would fit in with you. If your family is boisterous you need a very laid-back dog, for example.
■ If you’re having a problem, do seek help. People think puppies will grow out of it, but they very often do not.