All Dogs Great and Small

 Graeme Hall

Have you ever wished you could get the dog in your life to behave better?

Enter Graeme Hall: The Dogfather.

Having worked with more than 5,000 dogs, of all shapes and sizes, Graeme has seen pretty much every behavioural issue going. And – whether it’s house-destruction, fear and anxiety, or aggression – he’s helped to fix it.

From the Great Dane scared of a chihuahua and the Labrador that barked whenever his owners tried to eat, to the schoolboy error that landed him in hospital, in All Dogs Great and Small, Graeme shares some of his hard-won, often hilarious, success stories (as well as the odd disaster). Backed up by scientific research, he also reveals his simple, practical and effective golden rules for dog training, which will enable you to understand your dog, help you drive better behaviours and give you the tools to bring much-needed harmony to your home.

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My Thoughts

I’ve been a big fan of Graeme Hall’s television programme Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly right from the start. I have an extremely anxious rescue Dachshund with many issues and am always looking out for helpful dog training tips.

I’ve read countless training guides before and never described one as gripping, but this book had me hooked from the start.

Graeme is a straight talking Yorkshireman with an amazing sense of humour, two things which are essential  when dealing with our furry friends (and their owners!). His voice comes over strongly and he actually explains the psychology behind his training methods which I find is rare in this type of book.

The book taught me that instead of focusing on my rescue dogs issues, to think about how far he has come in the time he has been with us. There was a font of knowledge regarding the body language of a dog and Graeme dispels some of the myths of dog training. He includes amusing anecdotes and talks fondly of his two Rottweilers Axel and Gorden, who have now sadly died.

Many people in the dog training world are ‘dog people’ and harshly blame behavioural issues on incompetent owners. Graeme Hall is a ‘people person’ and a ‘dog person’, therefore he connects with humans and canines alike. His easy going manner gets the owner to open up to him and through this connection Graeme spots a well meaning mistake and explains how to correct it. There is no element of blame, just sheer pleasure that an owner and his dog can live happily together.

I highly recommend this book for experienced dog owners or anyone considering buying a puppy. It makes you see your dog in a totally different light. You realise that something as small as a facial expression (eg a smile) can have a big impact on your dog, that the tone of your voice is critical and that calmness is king!

Thank you to Ebury Publishing via NetGalley for a copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.

About The Author

Graeme grew up in a Yorkshire market town. He went to University in Hull (Hispanic Studies. He’s a dab hand at ‘Una cerveza, por favor’). He set off one sunny day in 1987 with his worldly possessions zipped into an old MG Midget to make his fortune Down South.

Down South, as Yorkshire folk know, starts at Doncaster. Graeme overshot and ended up in Northants where he lived happily for 25 years. He didn’t make a fortune, but he did make a lot of breakfast cereal, with his teams, as a manager in the food industry.

Leaving (to make his fortune), he followed his passion for dogs and set up Dogfather Training in 2008. Graeme developed his own way of doing things which struck a chord with owners. Soon, he was working around the UK, sometimes abroad. Australia is the furthest ‘Down South’ to date.

5000 dogs later, in 2016, TV producers called. Since then, his show Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly has aired around the world.

Having written in Countryside mag since 2012, a book was a natural next step. All Dogs Great and Small (Feb 2021) is the result.

Graeme is still trying to make his fortune. You can help. A very small percentage of proceeds from every book sold will be donated to this very worthy cause.