We chat to the popular dog trainer about his life with dogs
(Main image: Sarah Cockerton Photography)
Adem Fehmi has become one of the most popular dog trainers in the media. Featuring on TV, in print, on radio, and at live events, including Crufts and fun dog shows, he has been sharing his knowledge of – and his huge passion for – dogs for many years.
Owner and founder of Dog-ease, he helps hundreds of owners train their dogs but he’s more than just an excellent trainer. Adem gives his time up to support charities and is part of the Pets as Therapy initiative. He is truly passionate about everyone making the most of life with our canine best friends. We sat down with him to ask him about his work and his philosophy of living with our four-legged friends…
MH: Tell us about how your love of dogs began.
AF: So, I’ve been working with dogs for well over 20 years. I started really not knowing I was going to become a behaviourist or trainer. I just loved animals, dogs, the environment, conservation, and I still do today.
I really just got involved initially with a pet shop in a local area to me called Knebworth, helping a local groomer and also bagging up dog biscuits. I absolutely loved it. Owners would just bring their dogs in and I would just think this was great. I didn’t have a dog at the time but I always wanted one.
Over time, I convinced my parents to get a dog. My parents were having a breakup, which was not easy for me, so the dog became a sort of light in the dark, if you like. He was called Trigger, named after the Only Fools and Horses character. He was just wonderful. He had some issues behaviourally so I took him to training classes at Knebworth Dog Club. These were just obedience people that would really like to work their dogs in competitions and they let me on the committee actually.
Dogs really have changed my life, from being a very young boy that was a little bit confused, to running a canine business. We have grown organically and naturally, and I’ve just followed my dream and my passion.
MH: Tell us about the dogs that you own.
AF: I’ve got a beautiful black Labrador called Wren. She’s around about 10 now. Sadly, she had an operation at four for a prolapsed disc. So, she’s had quite a tough time. She has physio with a lovely lady called Cloe, and has hydrotherapy, too. She’s on quite a few pills to help her through, but she’s done really well and we keep her fit. She’s a Pets as Therapy qualified dog and she helps me with some of the dogs up at the school.
I’ve got a beautiful yellow Labrador, who’s now six, called Bertha. I use her a lot on Instagram as she’s quite active. She’s a higher energy dog who has done lots of demos. She’s a really helpful dog for the business. She loves being out in the garden with me and we go on long walks. Wren can’t quite go so far.
The dogs have been brilliant around the kids. I’m actually a member of KAD, which is Kids around Dogs. That’s another little passion of mine, to help people with dogs and children, and help them build relationships with dogs. These two dogs have just been absolutely great for Arna, my daughter who’s five, and we’ve got little George who’s eight months. The dogs are lovely and calm around the home and very helpful at work – they’re great family pets. We will, at some point, be bringing a new dog in.
Dogs to me are family. They are my pillars; they help with everything. I couldn’t do what I do without them, all from my original little Westie, Trigger. I mean, every one-to-one lesson I have, I go in and I can see one of the dogs I’ve owned in these pet dogs and think I know how you tick and move. And that’s sometimes because of that dog that I had 20 years ago, you know, and it’s a special thing. All of my dogs have been like teachers. Even the dogs I work with, I’ve become very attached to some of those, too.
MH: You see over a hundred dogs on a weekly basis through your dog school and consultations. What are you mostly helping owners with?
AF: We see lots of anxiety and separation issues, as well as all sorts of fears, phobias, and dog reactivity. These are behavioural issues that we experience. Sometimes we’re helping with training issues, too, so loose lead walking, heelwork, and stays. When we are teaching, we talk about the modern-day dog.
We teach actions like ‘Go to bed’ at the dog school where we could use the bed in an Airbnb, or use it as a safe place at a café or a pub. The bed is just a roll-up mat that owners can carry around, but the training is actually a life skill for the modern dog.
We look at dogs’ breeding as well. In my line of work, I’ve seen a huge increase in working energies in pet homes. We might experience different issues within the home because of the high-energy needs of certain breeds.
MH: What qualities make somebody really good at training dogs, whether a professional or an owner?
AF: I think understanding what you’re trying to teach, and being clear, patient, and consistent.
When you’re looking at being successful with dogs, you’ve got be positive. You’ve got to understand what makes the dog work. Dogs are social mammals. Understanding how to be positive, patient, consistent, and being clear is the key thing.
Understanding dog body language and movement is important as well. You know, the way dogs move and work. You learn that over time. Behaviour is learning about, say, anxiety or phobias, or what stress signs look like. Training is where we are teaching a dog an action, and that’s the difference. I do both training and behaviour.
As a dog trainer helping owners, you also need to be able to help people. I’ve got to get the owner to do it, not the dogs. I suppose how my role has developed over the years is actually being good with people. I’m constantly developing and learning new skills. Some people learn by watching, some listening, some by copying. It takes a few lessons of practicing.
MH: How would you assess the current level of dog ownership? In terms of how good are we, the public, at caring for our dogs?
AF: It’s a really good question. I think it varies hugely.
I offer a puppy 1-2-1 consultation, and then these owners bring their dogs to my dog school for classes. These types of owners that I see are really dedicated. They are trying to set their dogs up for modern-day life such as holidays and coffee shops, and for great lives.
On the other side of that, we get dogs that are really stressed. Owners maybe are not putting in the training time and then asking too much of them. So, I think it’s sort of 50:50, I would say.
We’ve also got people breeding for colour, not necessarily temperament. I call it snap breeding. I think that’s sometimes where we can still be letting dogs down if we are not looking for temperament and looking to breed dogs that are healthy. That’s really important to me because this is a big problem. This can affect behaviour training, people’s relationships with dogs, longevity, life, and stress for both dogs and people.
MH: What’s the best thing about your job?
AF: Well, because I do so many roles, it’s difficult picking one. I do lots with media, products and brands, and shows and events, too. It varies. One of the proudest things I do is the Pets as Therapy. It’s a charity organisation and I’ve taken my dogs for years – that really makes me happy.
Seeing people be happy with dogs. Whether it be with the charities or within my business. I don’t think you can beat that feeling when you get somebody that really does turn a dog around and it’s a massive achievement for, say, somebody that might have come to me six months before with no idea about dog behaviour or training. Now, they’re walking their dog on a loose lead in the park or letting their dog off. These moments are magical for me.
MH: Tell us more about your Pets as Therapy work.
AF: My dog, Wren, goes in hospitals and brings relief and joy to people. She loves getting the attention and you see that person’s face light up if they’ve been on a ward all day.
We also do a food bank now. I go to a pet food bank every Monday night, and Wren will come along with me and there’ll be people that are maybe struggling. That’s actually just reminded me. There was a chap who was really down. He came over to see Wren. She’s so gentle and she’s an old girl now, but meeting her put a huge smile on his face. He was like, “That’s just made my day.” There is a lovely lady called Barbara at the food bank and she helps people with mental health issues. I said let’s go and speak to her, and Wren was like that step to helping him.
MH: What are the hardest parts of being a dog trainer?
AF: People not believing in what you’re telling them because training and behaviour is rarely a quick fix and takes consistency, time and patience.
Then there’s the other side of behavioural work which is going into people’s homes. There can be stress in the home that is beyond my role as a trainer, but the dog is in the middle. You can sometimes be drawn into those things and you’ve got to be professional – you don’t learn about that at university. I did my degree, but these are things that I’ve learned over the years.
MH: How did you get into the media side of dog training?
AF: I’d never really thought about the media side of things early on, but I suppose it was through social media. I love my photography and I take lots of pictures of the dogs at the dog school and the owners, with permission, of course. But I suppose that’s what caught on; my social media, on Facebook and Instagram.
I have worked with a number of brands and organisations, from pet food companies such as Barking Heads, car safety experts such as Tavo, pet sitting services such as ‘Rover.com’ and charitable organisations such as Pets as Therapy, just to name a few. My TV roles have grown organically, too, from my work as a canine expert and the years I have spent working with dogs. A lot of my work is through word of mouth because I have been in the industry for so long. It’s a part of the business that I have just grown into, whether this be TV appearances and presenting, radio interviews, podcasts, advising brands, or providing commentary as a canine expert. It’s something that gives me a platform to educate and I think that’s important.
MH: Have you got any highlights from the media work?
AF: Oh, that’s a good question. Some of the most fun bits have just been with my dogs for my own Instagram account. I enjoy it and, if people can learn something from my socials, that’s great.
I have also loved my TV roles, with Blue Peter being a particular highlight. The segment was fun and informative, focusing on training for brushing your dog’s teeth. I had a lot of fun with my own dog, Bertha, and also the Blue Peter dog, Henry, in this feature.
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