Soul Touched by Dogs

Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs
Podcast, the show for dog lovers who

see dogs not as toys or tools, but
wise souls worth our respect and care.

I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.

I talk to poor some humans, people who
do great work for dogs and their people.

So come and join us for
today's conversation.

Becky: Hello and welcome, Becky.

I'm super happy to have you here today.

Hello, thank you for having me.

A little bit nervous.

Oh, don't worry about that.

What do we need

Anke: to know?

I have treats here.

Yeah, I've got treats.

Just kidding.

Let people know where you're based
and so what's your business with dogs?

Becky: Um, I'm based in the UK, in the
middle of the UK, in a little town called

Bromsgrove, which is in Worcestershire.

And I left veterinary nursing after
a 32 year career as I was becoming

just a little bit disenchanted with
the way veterinary was going and the

corporate nature of it and whatever,
and wondered what I could do.

Well, I've been doing, uh, behaviour work.

in house for 15 years, always, always
had an interest in dog training

and behavior of cats as well.

So I've got a qualification in
cat behavior as well, however,

and made the decision to leave.

And it was, I was getting into a
little bad place in my head and

you know, what does a veterinary
nurse do when they leave?

It's, it's been a passion, an absolute,
um, vocation of mine all my life.

So I

investigated.

The world of dog training.

Could I do it?

Could I do it?

Well, I've been doing it for 15 years.

I've done it with all my own.

So I started doing courses, one
thing and another, and set up Becky's

Doggy Business, which is actually
my initials, Becky Delibovey.

So, yeah, it was kind of a bit
of a, when you say Becky's Doggy

Business, people go, uh huh.

So I put, and cat care on the end as well.

So I do pop in cat care appointments.

So yes, I do one to ones.

I don't do classes.

I go around.

And mainly for me, that's because I'd
observed a lot of training classes,

um, I used to go around and observe
a lot of training classes before we

would agree to recommend them from the
veterinary surgery, and my word went.

It was positive, reward based,
or nothing kind of thing.

And, um, hello, old girl.

The old girl's coming.

And so, um, Yeah, I took it from there,
but I realized that on a one to one basis,

people were getting a lot more bespoke,
concentrated, and for them, rather than,

and I'm not dissing classes, they have
their place, certainly, but having watched

them, you could see that in a room of ten
people, clients with puppies that four or

five of them were winging it, just getting
through it, embarrassed, not doing stuff.

So I used to run across and try and
help those individually and then they'd

leave knowing what to do type thing.

Um, so yeah, I do one to ones and
so I'll get, well, what people

class as behavioural issues.

Sometimes it's training and
sometimes it is behaviour.

Anke: So, so what's.

Well, I mean, first of all, I'm always
curious, like, when somebody leaves,

like, a job to start their own thing,
is it what you thought it would be,

or is it better, harder, different?

What's it like to be a boss?

I

Becky: definitely had a mourning, um,
period of time, and I was missing it,

but when, and one of these, I mean, my
boss just said, there's always a job

here, please come back, and I just went.

I never go back, and I went, sorry,
and I was all crying, you know,

it was a big emotional thing.

Um, so I made it work.

It was hellishly stressful,
because as we've already, um,

sussed out, I'm not terribly tech.

But me, you know, things like that.

Setting up a Facebook page.

People had to do it for me and whatever.

Now I just click it, you know,
Instagram, that kind of a thing.

Online banking.

God, it was just, it was, it was a
massive, it was like a big learning curve.

Um, and then things started to slot into
place and I was absolutely astounded

when people started asking me for my
services and very humble, humbled by it.

Um, in fact, the imposter syndrome, I
think is something that affects a lot of

people and I was heavily burdened with it.

Less so now, it's just gone
eight years in, you'd think.

Um, but in 2019, I took part in, don't
even ask me why I entered, because I

trembled from the minute I pressed enter.

Dog Trainer of the Year competition,
which was held, yeah, at Battersea Dogs

Home for a week, Monday to Friday, um,
where we got given three dogs, well

we picked out randomly three dogs,
and I got, you know, a greyhound.

You think they can't be trained?

This one could.

They didn't think it could
be, but we made progress.

A very, very sad little Westie had been
separated from its sibling because it

was just in season and had been placed
at Battersea by the family of its owner.

That owner had gone into hospital and
that just absolutely nearly killed me.

And she was almost like, Where,
where, where's, where's Timmy?

Where's my friend?

Where's my friend?

And I'm going, oh my god.

And then a rampant little Paterdale
Terrier who had got a cover

across the front of the couch.

She was absolutely reactive to the hilt.

Um, got a special mention for
her at the end of the competition

saying she'd made the most progress.

The cover wasn't on a thing now.

She was sitting politely and whatever.

And I came like, it was like
a split decision second.

Second, um, between me and another
lovely, lovely trainer, who's a friend

of mine now, because of that competition.

Um, yeah, her dog had got moved
from the main kennels to the

homing section on the day.

And she had to go and perform it in a new
environment, so that added to criteria.

And she got there and she won.

And that was the difference.

But yeah, it came second.

So I kind of shed a few
layers of imposter syndrome.

I bet.

I bet.

That day.

And, um, I asked the people who
organised it, I am allowed to

call myself a dog trainer or am I?

And they went, well, if you
effing can't, we effing can't.

Both: So,

Anke: so when you look at across sort of
your clients, like what are their sort

of typical things people struggle with?

Is there something where you think,
oh boy, I wish people knew this thing?

Is there something you wish people knew?

Becky: Relationship, bonding
is the singular most important

thing to have with your dog.

A dog that wants to be with you,
a dog that's looking at you, not

looking at you, but looking at you,
um, and that wants to be with you.

You'll never have to teach a dog
recall that wants to be with you.

Simple.

Um, but in terms of issues, the
ones that people have is their

dog barks at other dogs on lead.

Um, do you ever let yours off the lead?

I can't, it won't come back.

Relationship.

So how does one

Anke: go and say, if I have a
dog where I'm thinking, Oh, I

don't trust you to be off lead.

And I don't trust the
relationship I have with you.

So what's sort of the first step
to, to build that or repair that?

Or how, where do you even start?

Because I think when somebody is at this
place was like, Oh, I don't trust my dog.

My dog, my dog doesn't trust me.

You know, what's the first
step to break through that?

Becky: Um, yeah.

So I always say about building
up a relationship with a dog,

it's, it's, it's a mutual, it's
a mutual thing and it's trust.

It's trust from them.

And you can, you can take away from that
trust account, or you can add to it.

If I sit, I sit.

If the dog sits, I go, yes,
and give them their dinner.

She just gone nuts
because I said, yes, yes.

She was like, where's my dinner?

I'll just pay for it.

There you go, sweetheart.

So, um, so, and I always say, say
it like, where's, I'll say that

to people and then they go, yes.

And I go, see the difference?

Same word.

Tone, pitch and inflection is massive.

So I always go, Yes!

Get it!

Well done!

That's lovely.

You can add all the good boys
in and everything afterwards.

And you see them, they're
going, Did I please you?

Did I please you?

And then you just hold the
food, they sit and you go, Yes!

Get it!

That, that's how I do it.

Um, if I hold my hand like that and
dogs are naturally curious and they come

and do and they go, what have you got?

As they do it, I'll say, touch.

Yes!

Nice work!

You're so clever!

And then I might add a little bit
of movement into it so they want

to touch it rather than going,
touch it, touch it, touch it.

What, what, what are you doing?

Yeah?

Um, house training.

For example, people go, Pick
him up and put him outside.

How horrifically scary
is that for a puppy?

Whereas I'm just going to go, My mistake.

Get the cloth, wipe it off.

Absolutely nothing.

But out there, when I've taken baby
puppy out with the bladder the size

of a pea, It's a word that needs to
go that often and they get it right.

I go, Wee wees!

And just as they finish, Yes!

Get it!

Party!

Party!

And they go, Oh my God, this is amazing!

So all of a sudden, well I say all
of a sudden, Three or four weeks

in that puppy's gonna be going, I'm
stood by the back door, but action,

thought and consequence is so powerful.

Little at that point,
there's no control there.

If they do a pee by the back door,
don't ever, ever tell them off.

Both: They

Becky: will go into the place where they
knew that sparked you into excitement.

All you're ever doing, if
you tell them off, is taking

away from that trust account.

We need to add to it to
the point where, you know,

I reckon that I could practically
stitch my dog up if she cut her foot,

conscious, because she trusts me so much.

Oh, I love

Anke: that.

Actually, it reminds me when my very
first dog came, I said, like, you

know, and he was found in the street.

And I don't know, I didn't
really know anything, but I

did this kind of intuitively.

I would always celebrate him
when he did his business outside,

you know, and it was hilarious
because it literally took a week.

Like, he got it, like, really quickly.

And then when they're five,

Becky: you're still going, Wee wee!

Now, the thing was that what I remember is

Anke: him kind of doing his
business and then looking at me

like, I did a great job, didn't I?

Like, so the excitement in his little
face was just like, look what I've

just done, look what I've done!

So funny, but it worked, it really worked.

Becky: Docs repeat behaviors that
for them have been reinforced, albeit

intentionally, All unintentionally.

And I've had, I went last week to
somebody's house, well he's jumping up

and he's jumping up, 18 week old working
cocker, he's jumping up, people as we're

going in the street and everything,
the husband came back from And she's

like, no, no, don't let him do it.

And I'm like,

Anke: there's your issue.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, is there something
like, is there one or two people,

what is something that people
are reinforcing without knowing?

Like, is there something like a
part like the jumping off thing?

It's like that.

I can totally see it.

Becky: Pulling.

Pulling on the leash.

Pulling on the lead.

You know, it works.

I pull, you follow.

I try even harder, you work.

Now if you just stop.

I mustn't say, I shouldn't say this,
but men are notoriously difficult

because their patience isn't quite.

People will just look at me and go,
the patience you've got, I'm waiting

for the dog to make the right decision.

I'm not allowing them to make choices
that are going to be detrimental to them.

You've created, the dog
has, pressure on the lead.

That means that I stop.

That's negative to the dog.

So there is a consequence.

So although I say, where anyone says
they're reward based or force free,

I'm not, all I've done is stop.

That's the consequence.

That's the punisher, okay?

I stop, the dog goes, what?

Why haven't we, as they look at me,
I indicate, come back to my side.

As they reach the side, I go, Yes!

And start walking again.

Then I reach in my treat pouch
and I reward them at my left leg.

Two seconds later, bang,
they're at the end of the lead.

They've got to get to the end of the lead
to realise that that, or harness pressure,

means she stops and I don't get anywhere.

So, I'm Conversely, what do people do?

The dog's under constant pressure, so
that pressure anywhere means nothing

to the dog other than I'm succeeding.

And that's why they pull.

Anke: I actually had, I had a
puller that was like, I had one

that was like really strong puller.

And I noticed with him, like none of
that worked until he was generally, a

little more settled because where we were
living, he was under like information

overload, like, you know, in the
historic part of town, smells, noises,

bicycles, people, boom, boom, boom.

He was like, his stress bucket was 99
percent full all of the time, you know,

and it was almost like he wouldn't,
I could stop and he'd be like pulling

and like, didn't even like, this
didn't even register, you know, so it

was literally when we moved away and
his, you know, the whole environment

was calmer, he started to relax.

All of a sudden he walked just
fine, you know, so I thought his

nervous system was calm enough to
even take anything in, you know.

So I think there's that.

But

Becky: if I lived in the middle of
the town and I got to do that with

my, I would, and I know it's almost
like I do this and I do the other.

In an ideal world, I'd get into the car
and drive somewhere that was at the level

that they could cope with and then walk.

Both: Yeah.

Becky: And then, you know, maybe get
somebody to drop me off so as I can walk.

Back and back.

And by that time, the bucket,
the energy level dissipated.

So yes, there isn't one approach.

This is why I say to people quite
often, I like to be black and white

to the dog, payoff or no payoff,
consequence or no consequence.

The consequence being you try and
barge through a door, it shuts.

You move away, it opens.

You try and barge through, it shuts.

You try, you sit there and wait, and
I go, thank you, now let's go through.

Yeah?

So there's consequences, but I don't
mean punitive or anything like that.

Um, oh, where was I going with that?

But I do, yeah, so black and
white, Yes, and I rarely say no.

And consistency, right?

There's a lot of, because
you were mentioning patience.

But for owners it's not black and white.

But for owners it's not black and white.

Because we've got to take the
dog's age into consideration.

Whether they're teething, when they last
had a poop, you know, are we taking them

straight to training class when you've
been out at work all day and you've

just come back and it's going bad.

Boom!

You're not going to get much from that.

You need to kind of set
up the dog for success.

So it isn't just, I would ever take,
you know, people would say, Oh,

isn't your, isn't your puppy good?

And I went into an adult class when
she was just four months old and

we were already doing scent work.

And all I wanted her to do was some
scent work in the presence of other dogs.

Um, But, I've taken her for a walk.

She's only had half of her dinner.

She's working for dinner.

Do you know what I mean?

I'm setting her up for success type thing.

I'm not just taking her and fizzing.

So, yeah, it's not always black and
white to the um, novice dog owner.

Really, but I love it when people
get hooked and they want to learn

more and they want to do it.

Okay, right now I'm digging
into my bag of tricks now.

Anke: Yeah, and it's so, I mean, it's
also so rewarding when you see the

dog responds and then there's this
And I think, do you find like playing

together builds relationship when you
just spend a lot of time with your dog?

So what do people do when
they're at work for a long time?

What do people do?

Yeah, I mean, you know, how do you
build, like, if what I'm getting at is,

is will like the, or the, the, the pace
or how you build that relationship,

how much does it have to do, how much
time you have to spend with your dog?

Becky: A lot, a lot really, because, um,
Again, even though I was only doing, I was

part time as a veterinary nurse, mainly
since I had children, for 30 years, um,

yeah, um, I still had young children.

You'd get back to, to, to, to, to, on
Dog the Walk, you know, and it was, it

was, it was more of a mechanical thing.

With these two, it not so much.

Flix, 14, so what my youngest would
have been like 15, 16 when we had

her, uh, but the oldest one and.

This one, but I've never had
a relationship with a dog

that I've got with this one.

If I'm there, she just wants to be.

But not in a clingy way, she's
happy being on her own as well.

But if I'm there, it's always, you
know, what are we doing, when are we

doing it, how many times can we do it?

So yeah, but it doesn't
have to be hours at a time.

You know, you can just pick a baller
because you're going down the garden to

And I just go, stop, wait, throw it,
walk, and turn around and go, yeah, get

it, and pull, pick a couple of weeds
up and do the same on the way back.

It doesn't have to be a monumental thing.

Um, you know, two minutes while the
kettle boils, when you've put the spuds

on and you're waiting for the rice
to cook, is better than no minutes.

Because two minutes, seven days
a week, is 14 minutes that you

won't have every time you come in.

I can't be training because
you think it's an hour's job.

An hour is actually way too much
to actually do focused training.

But virtually everything I do
when I've got a puppy from puppy

to about two years is training.

Whether it's Hand on the door, she
steps back, I go to open it, rather

than the nose is pressed up against it.

Do you know what I mean?

Um, everything that I do.

And you know, if I go and
touch her collar, I say collar.

If I'm looking at her
ears, I'm going to go ears.

There's an expectation.

Dogs like predictability.

If I go, pass me your foot,
pass me your foot, or I'm just

going to she knows it's ears.

If I say collar, she She's almost
like that because it's been rehearsed

Anke: so many times.

Becky: Yeah.

So, um, everything that you do
with them is training, actually.

And, and, you know, whether you know it or

Anke: not, right, whether
you want it or not.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So tell me a little bit about where you,
you hinted something before we started

recording, where you hinted at something
I want to kind of dig in a little bit.

You talked about diet, you know,
like when you when you say like all

this stuff to take into account.

You know, I know it's a big subject.

So, and I just want to kind of like, what,
what is something, again, like what's one,

if you could, if people would take away
one thing about diet and how it impacts,

you know, behavior and wellbeing, like
what, what would you, what would you say?

And anybody who wants to know any
more that like could get in touch with

you afterwards, but like, what's one
thing you wish people knew about diet?

Becky: God, it's such a
massive subject, isn't it?

Um, gut health is intrinsically related
to the brain and mood and how we feel.

That's with us and it's
certainly no different with dogs.

Um, yes, I was in the veterinary industry
and I, Oh, this may be controversial.

I believed what I was told under the
umbrella of the veterinary practice stuff.

That this diet was brilliant, it was
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah,

you fed them this, you did that, they
should be fed the same thing every day.

Oh my, it's true and it's
what, it's what professionals

know because they're taking their CPD
from the people that make the stuff,

oh dear, let's say it, or some CPD
from the people that make the stuff

and the pharmaceutical companies.

So we, the fear is real.

I stepped out of that and realised
that if that is the umbrella,

That is the section that I knew.

All of that, I didn't.

So, my dogs have a lot of fresh stuff.

Um, and there is, you know, you
put into a search engine of Google,

anti carcinogenic veg, and it's
all that dark coloured stuff.

You know, peppers and, and
tomato, bits of tomato, and

leafy greens and stuff like that.

Antioxidants, clears the
brain out, gets whatever.

Um, I'm not saying to people, feed raw.

I found raw magnificent for mine.

And they're on a combination actually
of good quality kibble, since in the

85 percent sort of bracket, if you
look on the, or believe everything you

see on the All About Dog Food site.

Um, and raw food.

And anything in between, you
know, crack an egg, a whole fish.

We saw some salmon heads.

They had those deep frozen.

It's not every day.

It's not once a week.

That isn't, but it's.

It's, I have no qualms about it, and
all I can say is touching wood very,

very swiftly is that Margot here at
five years old, I have not yet seen

her have diarrhea or an upset stomach,
and I've never seen a vomit and she's

been thus far, raw fed since day one.

Combination.

The healthiest dog we've had.

Flick by rights with the
surgery and conditions.

We nearly lost her at seven
following the booster vaccination.

Um, sort of an IMHA, immune
mediated hemolytic anemia.

She almost died.

Has not had the booster or
anything since and we switched her.

At that age to raw as well, and
the combination so, and she's

still with us and living to
tell the tale at 14 and a half.

So no, I'm not telling people don't
get boosted, I'm saying advocate

for your dogs, do your research.

Um, you know, you get them, get
them tested for the antibody,

you know, teeter tests.

Um, and, and see how
you're doing with that.

But, um, yeah.

Because I think, I always say, you

Anke: know, like, whatever, because,
you know, sometimes I've had, like,

I think 20 years ago, I switched
my, my little Leo, my first dog,

and I, by accident, came across this
ebook where somebody had lost a dog.

And he goes, like, at four years
old, and he goes, that's not normal.

He started to dig in and said, well,
if you only take away one thing from

this book, like, Read the damn labels.

Don't trust what it says on the front.

So it's basically saying, if you
see what's in there and what isn't,

you'll never feed this stuff again.

Becky: It's supposed to be
the meat, not meat byproducts,

not turkey digest, not powder.

It's not stuff that would keep

Anke: your garden alive.

Exactly.

And that's what he taught me there.

That's what I got.

It's like, Oh, don't trust the, Oh,
balanced or whatever food, chicken.

And then no.

Read the label and when I feel
sorry for the scent of byproducts,

Becky: like don't touch it.

Anke: You

Becky: know, it's so sorry for the
consumers though, because if, if you're

on a budget and there again, I'm not
saying you've got to do what you do the

best that you can with the budget that
you've got, where it's not impacting,

you know, on, on your own eating and
heating and electricity and whatever.

Um, but, but, but do
the best that you can.

And one dog food.

Because it says balanced and
it's 10 quid a bag and this one's

30 quid a bag and you're going
it's all dog food, it must be.

It's not.

It's not.

I

Anke: always say, you know, what
I, what I spend more on dog food,

hell, I'm saving on vet costs.

And it's true.

It has been true for 20 years, you
know, like these guys get old and these

guys are healthy to the end, you know.

Along the same

Becky: lines as humans, dogs are
epidemically, um, Diabetes, IBS, skin

irritations, autoimmune diseases.

I have seen that there have been
hyperactive dogs, dogs that can't settle,

dogs that won't this, that, the other.

And I've asked about the diet and I won't
mention any, but there has been one that

sticks up like a sore thumb that isn't
particularly cheap, but it's recommended.

All right.

Um, And when they've come off that
and gone on to something else,

they've actually found that, oh my
god, I can't believe the difference.

He's absolutely, it's not that he's
suddenly become trained, but he's now able

to go, well, you want me to do something?

Now I can work it out rather
than, ah, jump, bike, jump.

Doing the warn of death,
you know, like concentrate.

That's massive.

I mean,

Anke: yeah, that's definitely, I mean,
my experience, like, skin issues went

away, poop changed, like, a lot changed.

Demeanor.

From taking them off.

And I, I was like, I'd followed the vet's
advice and they said, why this kibble?

Like the most expensive one we have, don't
ever go to the supermarket, feed him this

stuff we have and nothing else, right?

And so he wasn't doing well on it, you
know, he didn't have much appetite either.

And um, so when I stopped giving
him that, it was like, like day

and night, and I've never looked
back and the other dogs never saw.

Both: Have

Becky: you ever done the food platters
where you put like, um, a cracked

egg in one, a spoonful of raw, some
kibble, um, maybe some broccoli, um,

chicken, whatever, and they're almost
like, oh, it's like a little, little

buffet, and they're like, oh, oh, oh.

And invariably, it's really odd.

I've seen foxes do this in a course
that I've just done, where they're

doing it with urban foxes and how they
choose, and they don't automatically

go for the chicken, you'd be surprised.

There was like, about 14 different
food stuffs, and yeah, there

was, we did a study on it.

Oh, that's funny.

Oh,

Anke: I love that.

I love that.

So where can people go find
out, get in touch with you,

find out more about your work?

Becky: Oh, that's nice.

Um, well I'm on Facebook, Becky's
Doggy Business and Cat Care.

So give me a like and a follow.

That'd be great.

Um, I know that I've got a post pinned at
the top of my page about socialisation,

what it is and what it isn't in my
opinion, which was then heavily endorsed

by a lot of other dog trainers on
thinking on doing something right.

But it's not actually what people
think, hello, say hello to my

puppy, do this, do that, you know,
it's actually quite the reverse.

Um, I'm on Instagram.

Again, Becky's doggy business and
cat care, quite imaginatively.

Um, yeah, and, um, there's, there's
contact details on both of those forums.

Both of those.

Awesome.

Anke: So obviously if you're
watching the video, it's going

to be right above here above.

If you're listening on the
podcast, it's in the show notes.

Obviously, we're going to
make it easy to find Becky.

So thank you so much for coming.

This was delightful.

And, uh, I hope lots of people
get in touch with you and

you help a lot more dogs.

Please do.

Thank you for having me.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget
to subscribe, and leave a review so

other dog lovers can find the show.

If you haven't already, head
over to soul touched by dogs.

com and sign up for weekly doggy cuteness
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stories to warm your dog loving heart.

And if you know a pawsome human
you think I should interview,

I'd love an introduction.

Email me at Anke.

That's A N k E at Soul
touched by dogs.com.