I’m The Dogfather – here’s how to make your anxious dog calm during autumn thunderstorms… he won’t even hear the claps
A DOG expert has shared how you can get your pooch ready for autumn and winter thunderstorms.
Anyone with a four-legged friend will know how scared and scatty they can get when storms are banging and clapping in the sky outside.
But your pooch doesn’t have to suffer this year, says Graeme Hall.
Also known as The Dogfather, he is a dog trainer turned telly personality.
He is perhaps best known for starring on Channel 5‘s Dogs Behaving Badly, but he is also a podcaster and author on all things pooches.
Graeme has found huge success as a trainer, transforming thousands of naughty dogs up and down the country.
But you don’t have to privately hire him to benefit from his expertise.
He regularly appears on radio shows and television programmes like This Morning to impart some knowledge.
Yesterday, the pooch professional appeared on This Morning to share how you can stop your furry friend from being scared during autumn storms.
“It’s an old technique this,” he told host Cat Deeley.
“You play a soundtrack of rain and thunder, that kind of thing, at a very, very low level while your dog is doing something pleasurable.
“What might pleasurable be? Food.
“So, he’s noshing away, and then we’re playing a really, really quiet version of the sound.”
According to Graeme, your dog’s love for food will override their fear of claps and bangs, and they will find it easy to ignore the soundtrack.
“What we’re doing is a bit crafty,” he explained.
“Because we’re beginning to associate food with that sound.
Who is The Dogfather?
Graeme Hall shot to fame in 2019 with the launch of Channel 5’s Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly.
Before finding fame as a dog trainer, Hall worked as an executive for 21 years at the Weetabix cereal company in Northamptonshire.
While on gardening leave from his role, Hall trained as a professional dog trainer – a move that would dramatically change the direction of his career forever.
Hall didn’t have his own dog until he got his two Rottweilers, Axel and Gordon in his 40s.
Rottweilers are an important breed to train right and Hall worked endlessly to ensure their training was done correctly.
From there, Hall started his own professional canine training business, The Dogfather.
He landed himself a number of celebrity clients, including Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Denise Van Outen.
This lead to his now-fruitful TV career, with regular appearances on This Morning.
“Over time – probably days and weeks, actually – you start to build up the volume of the sound.”
As the sound gets gradually louder, your dog won’t be scared of it.
Graeme stressed the importance of making a “positive association” between thunder and food for your pooch.
That way, they won’t just be desensitised to the loud noises that come with aggressive weather, but will actually welcome them.
“The secret here is that the sound has got to be really quiet to start with, almost imperceptible,” Graeme stressed.
“And those little increments as you turn it up are going to be tiny, but you’ll get there in the end.”