Born in Fulham, England, Jan quickly found an affinity and a
respect for other animals. Many of her happiest moments as a child
were in the company of horses, dogs and other furry friends, and
living in London meant that these were not as often as she would
have liked. In fact, there was a long period of time when she found
herself without their company, in particular the time spent in the
Royal Navy as a teenager.
However, this was to change after marriage and a move to the quiet
countryside of Lincolnshire, situated in the Midlands of England. A
rescue dog called Purdey, Jan’s first dog since her childhood pet
Shane (an impressive Border Collie) had joined her, her husband and
children not long before. Those who have read Jan’s inspirational
bestseller ‘The Dog Listener’ will know that this situation did not
end happily, and although for a while it did put Jan off ever
having a dog again, she was soon convinced by her husband to get a
Springer Spaniel, whom they named Kelpie. This started a love
affair with the breed, which remains undiminished to this day.
Jan’s interest in training dogs began with Kelpie, and although she
even ran classes in obedience during the late seventies and early
eighties, she always had reservations about the methods used. She
would often object to what she saw as the more “confrontational”
aspects of dog training. It was not until she saw a demonstration
by Monty Roberts, the world famous “Horse Whisperer”, that she
finally realised the direction she must take.
Taking on board the Robert’s ideal of gaining trust and cooperation
from horses by communicating with them in their own language, Jan
set out to do likewise with dogs. This involved years of studying;
wolf behaviour, that of her own dogs and the teachings of Monty,
all of this while studying at University and raising two children
on her own. She began to realise that the similarities between her
own dogs and wolf packs were astounding. Once she established the
importance of the lead wolves, or Alphas, she looked for the same
in her own house. She discovered that Sasha, her beautiful, black
German Shepherd, was fulfilling that role. Jan tried to mimic
Sasha’s behaviour, and found to her amazement that her dogs
changed. Whereas before they would pull her around when on the
lead, they were much calmer. Similarly, the tendency to run off and
not come back diminished greatly. All those who knew her would
often comment on how “well behaved” her dogs were.
A lot of her work was done by trial and error, but after a few
years she had created “Amichien Bonding”, a technique that started
out with humble beginnings, with some friends asking her to help
them, but which is now being used all over the world. The book “
‘The Dog Listener’ ” and its accompanying television series have
earned her praise and respect from people everywhere. The method is
simple, yet highly effective, and even the most sceptical cannot
argue when they see the proof with their own eyes. Jan, together
with her son Tony, have saved the lives of countless dogs, and the
sanity of countless dog owners. Her method is a revolution, and her
personality and enthusiasm are matched by her respect for the
animals she loves and works with every day. She has just finished
writing the follow-up book to the bestseller ‘The Dog Listener’ –
which has already been translated into several languages – entitled
‘The Practical Dog Listener’. In all this, Jan’s feet remain firmly
on the ground; her goal has always been the improvement of the
already special relationship between Man and his best friend.
"The Dog Listener tells how to make dogs listen."--Parade
"Those wanting true canine companionship will find Fennell's
approach attractive and easy to apply."--Publishers Weekly (starred
review)
"The Dog Listener tells how to make dogs listen." -- Parade
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