Bridgnorth dog whisperer Nikki explains how to talk to your pet pooch

The 43-year-old from Bridgnorth is the owner of Canine Angel, and her way of handling dogs – both her own and those of her clients – is rather unconventional, writes Kirsty Bosley.

"I call myself a natural dog whisperer, which means I do everything without force, without using reward-based or punishment-based training," Nikki tells us when we call for the low down. That means no 'rubbing their nose in it' then?

"When you go to dog training, they teach you the commands – come, sit, stay. Anybody can do that with a treat in their hand. Anyone can teach an animal to do anything with food, but understanding the canine and their needs is different."

Nikki uses a technique called inter-species communication, a method of learning the 'language' of a dog to diagnose any behavioural issues.

It's an unusual approach but one that, when we find out more, actually makes a lot of sense.

"When you can have a 'conversation' with your dog, you can prevent problems from ever happening. What's most important is diagnosing or identifying a problem correctly, rather than just assuming you know what's wrong.

"We've brought the dog into our very human world, and they're animals. Humans are treating their pets like humans, which can cause deep psychological problems. Because they're a big part of the family now, and we're closer to them than we might be to some of our human family members."

Like us, dogs are complex, Nikki tells us. Bad behaviour can be a reaction to a number of causes.

"The first place I start is by looking at the overall health of the animal. If we're not feeling well, or feeling emotionally off balance, it changes our behaviour. So it's really looking into the deeper psychology and health of the dog to find out what's going on.

"I only use natural and holistic healing solutions if there are problems. I focus both on behaviour and on pet diet and nutrition too.

"Again, food is related to changes in behaviour, which is why I don't give dogs treats during my work – it's like giving children a packet of Smarties and expecting them to concentrate when they're hyped up on sugar. For me, it's about educating people about what's in the pet food they give their animals every day. We look at putting the dog back on to a species-appropriate diet."

There are a number of things that might be causing a pet problem – its environment, the owner's own behaviour or the food they're receiving are just three. Getting down to the crux of it is where Nikki specialises.

"It may be that the dog's bitten someone, but that's not the cause, that's the effect.

"Everyone wants to go in and sort the effect out but what we do is identify the cause and work on that. It's a bit like if there's something wrong with your car or washing machine – you'd get somebody to come in and find the problem and tell you how to fix it. That's really how I work.

"Responsible owners would get all of this education at the puppy stage or even before they've had the dog, because then they know how to look after the animal in the best possible way. But a lot of people wait, thinking they want a puppy and then finding that it's peeing and pooing and running off and then they need help."

Nikki's job sounds great. But it's not all about playing with puppies – there's a very serious side to dog whispering.

"I do deal with much more serious cases of dog aggression, where dogs have bitten people, like court cases in which animals have really damaged children's faces. That's where the dog psychology comes in – then it's not just about the dog's biting. It causes deep family issues and emotions, so I work with and counsel the family to give them total support. My main passion is to be there for the dogs – and be their voice.

"I want to try and reduce the number of dogs that end up in the rescue system or being euthanised because of a problem that wasn't found in time or it just became too costly to fix."

Getting into dog whispering wasn't something that Nikki set out to do. She got her first dog at 15, Jake, a stray Jack Russell who was, in her words, 'an angel in the house but an absolute nightmare with other dogs'. Struggling with dog-to-dog aggression, Nikki tried her best to understand him but was struggling.

"I didn't know what I was doing, but I loved that dog to death. I went to the vet to seek professional advice, and they told me to hit him on the nose with a newspaper to sort him out, to buy him a muzzle and a choke chain. It's just old fashioned rubbish. I didn't hit him, but I got a choke chain and muzzle and it didn't work. I felt like a failure, and just resorted to going out late or early to avoid other dogs.

"One night I let him off the lead as there were no dogs around and I wanted him to have a run. But he ran into the road and got hit by a car, and died at the vets with internal bleeding the next day. I blamed myself for five or six years, the grief was too painful and I felt like the worst dog owner in the world."

Nikki didn't get another dog for 20 years. She travelled the world volunteering and learning about problem pets, and set up Canine Angel in 2008. She took Annie's case then, and the pair have been fast friends ever since.

"Annie is an ex-racing greyhound. She was one of those cases that I do my job for – she was going to retire at four, but had become really aggressive to anyone going in her kennel, she'd bitten more than 10 people. Her trainer wanted to retire her but the chances were she'd be put to sleep because they'd never find a new home for her.

"I put an email out on the morning they were going to decide on Annie's future, asking for the worst case dogs to take on. I wanted to put all of my work into practice after 20 years of not having a dog. Within five minutes of sending it, the Retired Greyhound Trust got in touch to say they'd been discussing that day what would happen to Annie. It came at just the right time. She was just five minutes down the road from me, so I got in the car, drove down and had a dog within an hour!"

Since then, Annie has come on in leaps and bounds. Nikki claims that Canine Angel has a 100 per cent success rate. We can't speak for the other pups, but if the lovely Annie is anything to go by, we can't help but think that this is a whispering success story that needs shouting about.

For more information on Nikki and her work, visit www.CanineAngel.co.uk