Over the last year I've been working on an idea that has burgeoned into a whole new approach to dog training. It all started while observing the behaviour of two of my dogs, affectionately nicknamed Bozo and Mr Pops, as part of a solution I was exploring. As I toyed with the idea the alter ego of each took on form and character and leapt from the pages to present an entirely different way to view the training process.

At the time I was attempting to convey to some clients the importance of learning to read the signals their dogs give off by way of communication. I was battling preconceptions, superstitions and that reluctance we humans have of admitting that we’ve got something wrong. It occurred to me that I was probably not the best person to teach this being human myself, so I enlisted the help of one of my dogs, Blue, aka Mr Poodle Pops, whose body language and expression never fails to convey precisely the meaning he intends – and the kernel of an idea took root.

Where Mr Pops goes, Bozo (aka Beau) is not far behind, and what started as a rather fun way to teach dog communication soon morphed into something bigger and much more exciting.

Bozo and Mr Pops, the fictional characters of real life dogs, are an unlikely pair in nearly all respects, but they are the perfect combination to showcase learning from the canine perspective. Throughout their evolution they’ve built around them a fictional neighbourhood: a No-Exit street that runs into a country lane beyond, complete with characters both human and canine as well as supporting acts from those feline, bovine, ovine, equine, leporine, murine and galline. Yes, I bet that last one’s got you guessing!

As you might expect, their canine comrades all have issues that need to be dealt with not the least that they live with an eclectic, though in many ways, typical group of humans.

So let me introduce you.

There is Bozo, a big brawny Huntaway of unknown parentage, who brings energy, curiosity, excitement and enthusiasm to the mix. He gets into trouble, he makes mistakes, but, as most such dogs are, he is ever responsive to training.

…and then there is Mr Pops, a coiffured cum shaggy poodle of miniature stature with a pedigree that spans continents and goes back generations.  While Bozo will tackle a problem head on and isn’t afraid to give things ago, Mr Pops takes a more measure approach and weighs up all options before engaging. He is the stoic one, the observant one, the one who takes a step back and offers alternative solutions to those more traditional. Alternative solutions tried and tested by real dogs in real situations.

 Their different styles make them a great partnership; the combined perspective of which brings things into focus, adds depth to any situation and clarity to the solution. They come with an owner, Maddison Kaihanga Riley (Kai to her friends), a young teen who has learned as much from her dogs as they have from her and while she isn’t always with them on their adventures, she is often there to help them get their message across to dog owners in the Street.

Their friends, odd bunch that they are, are representative of the more common breeds found as pets in New Zealand. And, as you would expect, they live with an equally odd group of humans.

There’s Chuck, a big black Labrador retriever, who  lives up at the Old Place with Old Charlie Waggoner; Jackson, a wire-haired Jack Russell terrier, who lives at the end of the Long Drive with the Pollocks; Ruby Two Shoos, a black cocker spaniel who lives in the Cottage at the Top of the Hill with Mrs Harris; Blur, a black and white wire-haired pointer, residing in the House on the Corner with Bronwyn and Matt; and along the Lane Beyond the Street, up the Pohutakawa drive at Earldom Farm, lives Lady Bon Bon, a mixed breed dog part Staffy, part hound, bred as a pig dog and rescued from ever having to be one.

Bozo and Mr Pops teach through the telling of stories, demonstrate in video clips and offer a range of practical, easy to apply (any dog can do it) solutions to real life situations dogs and their humans find themselves in through their Online K9 Academy. Each bite-sized block is easy to digest and quick to apply, and when linked together with subsequent blocks, builds behaviour sequences that work towards resolving any canine conflict by educating human and dog alike.

Over the next weeks and months, Bozo and Mr Pops will come online with their very own website – Bozo and Mr Pops K9 Academy – to answer questions, solve problems and present solutions from a dog’s point of view. Wherever possible, they’ll do it through photo and video, and they’ll back it up with step by step processes and key points to make the learning easier. These focal points will help the human part of the partnership better get across to the dog part what they want the dog to do while providing an effective way of measuring success.

Besides providing online training solution, Bozo and Mr Pops will be active in the international dog community writing blogs and tweeting as well as telling the stories of their adventures. Some of these stories will be just for fun, they are dogs after all, but some will have a message or present the reader with new things to consider with respect to their canine companions.

For you see Bozo and Mr Pops are on a bit of a mission. While they live the idyllic life with Kai and her family in the House at the End of the Street, it wasn’t always that way for them. Setting up their Academy and telling their stories has an underlying purpose that underpins everything they do. Bozo and Mr Pops exist to build better partnerships between dogs and their humans so fewer dogs end up abandoned or on death row and the humans they encounter stay safe.

Bozo and Mr Pops will always be dogs, and they’ll continue to do what dogs do best – they’ll live each day for today and get up to all sorts of antics. But perhaps their sharing of life from a dog’s perspective will benefit dog and human alike and make for safer, happier times for all.

As for LMC Solutions, we are right behind the pair of them, taking their lead and who knows where we'll end up. Come on the journey with us; it'll be fun!