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.

Hello

Anke: and welcome, Daphne.

I'm so excited to have
another Leo Mom here.

Yeah, we'll give that away in a
second, what this is all about.

But before we get there, why don't you
share with people where you're from, where

you're based, and what's your business?

Daphne: Anke, thank you so much for
having me on your wonderful podcast.

It's a pleasure.

So, um, I am from Um, Germany as yourself,
but I've been living in Spain for the last

12 years and I'm based now in Barcelona.

So here is where I do most of my
business, but I also work online

with people all over the globe.

And, um, yeah, that's my story.

Anke: Love it.

Love it.

It's funny.

It feels like we've sort of
followed each other almost

around the world a little bit.

Right.

So, so.

Bye.

Ciao.

Why don't, why don't you share like, you
know, we just have like a, almost like

a little teary moment when you share how
you, how you got into working with dogs.

Daphne: Right.

So, um, I, I showed this
picture before we hit record.

I'll show it again.

So what you see here.

is Little Daphne with Leo, um, just
as the Leo that you rescued years ago.

That's how I got in touch with dogs.

It was my grandparent's dog and I
just, I was in love with this animal.

And, um, I received so much love that.

It was really difficult to comprehend
sometimes why Leo was treated a very

old school way, um, with a lot of
punishment, a lot of screaming going on.

And even as I was so small at that
time, I, there was something in me that

said, it, there has to be another way.

There just has to be another way to
treat these animals that give us so much.

Yeah.

Anke: So how did you go
about finding that other way?

Because like, when I look back at,
you know, when I first met Maileo,

it was, you know, oh, here is the,
you've got to be the alpha dog, right?

You've got to be, you know, and
you have to walk through the door

first and you have to tell him who's
boss and why, you know, and then

there was like clicker madness.

I don't know who goes nuts
first with this, right?

And so it wasn't easy to find.

that other way.

How did you do that?

Daphne: Um, I guess stumbling at first.

Very innocently, I started fostering
when I got to university and I was

like, hey, we'll just swing this with
a couch and, and walk three times a

day and it's going to be just fine.

It was not fine.

Spoiler.

So then I got started with, um, behavior
modification and what that meant, and we

all know these little Skinner diagrams and
reinforcement and positive negative stuff.

Um, and funnily enough, I don't
know if I can name drop here, but I

started with Martin Ritter, who is a
very known trainer over in Germany,

um, but with time I understood that
this was again a balanced method.

So we're going to treat and be
nice up until the point we don't

know what to do anymore and then
we'll scream and punish again.

So that wasn't the way.

And, um, it was mind opening to get in
touch with trainers in the US with, um, I,

I formed myself in the UK, um, with other
programs here in Spain and in the US.

And that got me each time a little bit
closer to how actually we're living

with another human being, um, human
being, with another living being.

But almost treatable as
a human being, right?

We want to look at the relationship.

We don't want to be like, clicking
like mad until one loses their ear.

But we want to see, who am I living with?

What does this other living being need?

And how can we create a relationship
that we can both enjoy and

Anke: I love that.

You know, I, I mean, actually funny,
funny you mention Martin Luther.

My dad is a big fan, you know,
and I kind of don't like the guy,

right, because it is that, you know,
it's like I'm nice until I'm not.

So, and so I think the part that
I've seen, you know, with Leo

and the three that came after
him was that, Trust gets broken.

And then you have to work
really hard to recover it.

I mean, dogs are like, you know, they are
like little angels, like they do forgive

more than, than people often deserve.

But, but it is like every time you kind
of yell at them or every time you You

know, do something harsh, you know,
next time they'll think twice whether

they'll come when you call, right?

So now the question I think that people
were, you know, especially, you know,

the pushback you get from that, right?

It's like, oh, but like, that's
all fine if the dog's kind of like,

but what do you, how do you go
with that lovey dovey approach, you

know, because that's what people do.

You know, push back on, you know, how
do you handle a dog that, you know, is

anxious and that is reactive and you
know, where you normally kind of like

traditionally, oh, like my grandparents
might, yeah, maybe not so much, but like,

you know, a Martin Luther kind of guy
where he dealt with the dog, you know.

Daphne: So I always take it from
a perspective of saying, um, how

would you treat Your partner, how
would you treat your best friend?

How would you treat your mom
who's anxious, nervous, fearful?

Because all of these behaviors
that we label as bad, which also

there's a shift when we use these.

Bad words to describe our dog's behaviors.

That also gets ingrained in us
and creates distance, but these

bad behaviors are only symptoms.

So if we only cut through the symptom,
and if we only want to shut the dog down,

we're not doing anything about why this
Simpton has come up in the first place.

So you want to dig deeper
and ask yourself, why does

my dog need to act like that?

What emotion lies underneath?

And you need really a lot of
empathy for that because imagine,

I hate cockroaches, right?

Barcelona is full of them.

When I see one, I run across the
street screaming, waving my hand.

And if my boyfriend then yelled at
me and called me stupid or, or, God

forbid, slapped me in the face, I
would not learn anything from that

but, as you rightfully said, to not
trust him anymore when I am fearful.

So, it's not a lovey dovey approach.

It's really, it's common sense.

There's fear on the base.

This is not a bad dog.

It's not an aggressive dog.

It's a dog that needs your empathy
and needs you to understand what

is Where is this behavior coming
from and what does the dog need?

Anke: Yeah, I love that.

I mean, I have like one Mr.

Sensitive, you know, and he
would, you know, he would be

when I lived in Granada, right?

And I lived in the Yad Vashem,
like historic part of town or

like, you know, the, the widest
street is like two meters wide.

It's like noises coming from all angles.

There's like tourist groups coming,
there's mountain bikes chasing them,

there's cats jumping around, there's like
bells coming from who knows where, right?

Yeah.

And, and he was kind of like, he'd pull
on the leash like a crazy, like a maniac.

And I, you know, initially
I'd get frustrated.

You know, I look like this idiot here gets
dragged along by the dog, you know, until.

I realized, no, he isn't annoying or
whatever, like he has sensory overload.

He's just really sensitive because
we saw that like once when, when

there was like, I don't know, it
was a thunderstorm or like a tiny

grade two earthquake, 500 miles away.

And he senses it.

And I'm like, Oh my God, if he's
that sensitive, like that amount of

sensory input in his face, 24 hours.

You know, like of course that would be too
much and he's on edge all the time so it

just takes a tiny little bit and he'd be
like You know, now where I'm like in the

middle of nowhere and it's all quiet, this
dog is the calmest dog ever, you know,

and I have not trained him at all, like
haven't taught him anything else that,

you know, like, and he doesn't pull, he
doesn't, you know, like, it's just seeing

it for what it is, you know, and I love
that, that you kind of dig in there.

Daphne: I completely agree and I think
that's so thoughtful of you to, to go

that process because it would be so
much easier to just tug the leash 20

times until the dog says, well, I can't
express myself in this way for sure.

So, but that anxiety
would have just gone on.

Anke: Yeah.

And it shows up in other ways.

And I think it's like, you know, it's like
a pressure cooker, you know, and I think

this also depends on what the dog is.

And I think sometimes you have
these dogs that, you know, like

that are strong willed, like your
Terriers or your Pudinkas, like

they don't take that shape, right?

They kind of will not back down.

They will be difficult to last minute.

Whereas like, I think I've seen
people with Golden Retrievers,

you know, they just kind of get
yelled at twice and they, Right.

You know, they just kind of back down.

And if you have dogs that are more
strong willed who won't back down,

like, well, you either learn or you're

Daphne: And then we're back to
this labeling of good dog, bad dog.

Um, I get that a lot with
my clients at some point.

They're like, Oh, but you know,
our neighbor has the same kind of

dog and they're such a good dog.

I'm like, Oh, careful there.

Because what looks like a good dog to
us can very well be a shut down dog.

Because if you break.

An individual's mind so much, if
you're so harsh and unforgiving and

unjust to them, they just give up.

This is called learned helplessness.

It, it happens with humans as well.

Um, and then you just go
like, you know what, I'm not

going to do anything anymore.

And that to us looks like a good
dog, but I always say I prefer

a happy dog than a good dog.

Always.

Anke: Totally.

Totally.

So how do people work with you?

You said you work, you know,
you work obviously locally,

but also, you know, virtually.

So how does that work?

Well, how do people
come to you and then how

Daphne: does that work?

Right.

So, um, I do both.

Most of my business is here in
Barcelona, but I do work online even

with people in Barcelona because, um,
there are some behaviors that are best

worked when I'm not another factor
that is bothering in the situation.

So many people don't know that, but online
training is amazing for a lot of dogs

because you don't get in their space.

You don't, you know, change the picture.

Um, People can find me on Google
Maps if they type in DOC training

Barcelona or Saving Slippers,
which is my brand Barcelona.

And um, I have a website,
savings slippers.com, and I'm

on Instagram with the same name.

So at Savings slippers, you'll find me.

I do some reels, I give some
tips, people can reach out to me.

Anke: Very cool, very cool.

What's, what's the story behind the name?

Daphne: So, uh, I work a lot with,
with puppies, um, each time a little

bit more, which is gorgeous because
then I can intervene at the beginning.

I set the people and the dog up for
success and that's just, that's Amazing.

I get emotional about it every time.

Um, so I thought about the name Long
and couldn't find anything and it was

again my partner who helped there.

He has a marketing background, bless him.

And, um, we thought about what's a
big problem that people have with dogs

and especially puppies steal slippers
because when they're teething they

need textures that are interesting.

They need to get this mouth going.

So slippers are A well known victim of
dogs and I'm the one saving your slippers.

It

Anke: makes me laugh because like Leo was
like, like, Oh, he was super efficient.

You know, like he taught me to never,
ever leave shoes anywhere or socks.

Right.

So yeah, totally.

I had lots of slippers who
needed saving from him for sure.

Yes.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you so much.

And I think I'm just
like always delighted to.

meet people who do work in that space and
to help change that narrative, you know,

because I think these dogs do deserve
all the love and all the respect that,

that, you know, that we can give them.

And so many don't, don't have yet.

Daphne: So thank you.

That is so true.

Thank you for the work you're doing.

Thank you for putting a platform out
there where people can educate themselves

and connect with other stories.

And hopefully I could
contribute to that today.

You're so good.

Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening.

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And if you know a pawsome human
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Email me at Anke.

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