I grew up with a large pack of sighthounds, mainly whippets, and through my parents’ activities back in France, I’ve come to meet all sorts of dogs, and horses too, which have also been very present in my life from a young age. When amongst friends I often refer jokingly to my childhood as “when I was a puppy “ This is how much I’ve been influenced by my canine sisters and brothers! My upbringing
with the hounds allowed me to acquire very early on, a natural and instinctive knowledge and understanding of dogs in general and sighthounds in particular; their needs, their behaviour, their psychology. I have been learning and working with sighthounds ever since. It’s been the passion of my life, understanding my dogs inside and out, living amongst them as harmoniously as possible, caring for them in a way they’d look up to me as their friend and protector. Their happiness and health depends on me and I love the challenge! Along the journey I’ve met some very skilled vets and physical therapists who were eager to share their knowledge, inspiring me to do continuous further research. I have gained a wealth of experience from owning a large pack of greyhounds and caring for their daily needs including diet, exercise, physio, massage, grooming, fitness and health. Caring for them for so many years has led me to the point where I feel my wisdom and experience is worth sharing. Through the years I’ve learned than maintaining our dogs’ fitness, regularly using physio treatments ( massage, stretches, ultra sounds.. ) is paramount. Regular physio check-ups are a must to detect and assess many problems, from recurrent limps and overall stiffness to sudden changes of behaviour, nervousness etc… But also primarily to prevent more serious health issues such as how minor soft tissue injuries will lead to other problems when ignored and how long lasting stiffness will impact badly on our pet’s moods and appetite, triggering other ailments in time. Avoiding excessive medication and costly tests, massage and physio is a very efficient way to make our life with our pets as positive as it can be, and I can testify from it first-hand, since my pack of 10+ greyhounds very rarely need veterinary care. They benefit from decades of experience and they all trust my hands and expertise whatever problem they have (or don’t have yet !). I’ve often fostered hounds in need, trying to make them feel comfortable and welcome as quickly as possible, some would be coming from very tough backgrounds and in poor mental health. I’ve never met one that I couldn’t communicate with, regardless of their fears or issues. I’ve been dealing with excessive and difficult behaviours on many occasions and always with a very positive outcome, for both the dogs and their owners. My drive and inspiration being that there’s always a way to communicate positively with our dogs. Touch is one of these ways and whilst I’m particularly specialised with sighthounds, all dog breeds will enjoy and benefit from an experienced and confident hand and approach. This is what I’m willing to share with you and your dog and hopefully both of you will be willing and happy to catch up with me more than once ! :)
The French Touch canine coaching is a registered business.
