THE ANGELLA JOHNSON INTERVIEW
PAM WHYTE has the mind of an exuberant=20 five-month-old Dobermann pinscher. Well,=20 that’s what she says. “I try to think like=20 the animal I’m helping,” explains the 55- year-old dog psychologist. “Actually, I=20 prefer the term dog communication=20 specialist,” she corrects briskly, giving=20 me a blast of the no-nonsense tone used to=20 such good effect when handling unruly pets=20 and their owners.
Mention her name to people in the dog world=20 and eyes roll in exasperation. Words like=20 eccentric, arrogant, stubborn and dogmatic=20 are among the milder terms used to describe=20 a woman who says she understands dog-speak.=20 Her peers don’t like her because she=20 refuses to join their association. They say=20 some of her views are outlandish, that=20 she’s a maverick, not a team player. Yet=20 many grudgingly admit to using her methods.
Whyte, of course, thrives on the=20 controversy caused by her insistence, for=20 example, that dogs should get all they want=20 to eat because a fat animal is a happy one;=20 that exercise encourages unruly behaviour;=20 that training and vets are basically bad=20 for your pet. “I go against what everyone=20 else says, but I’m the only one who can=20 train a dog in just one session. And I=20 don’t take money unless the client is=20 satisfied.”
Tying her down to an interview is=20 difficult. Not because she is reluctant,=20 but because clients often rearrange or=20 cancel appointments, so she never knows=20 what to expect from one day to the next.=20 Maybe once the shock of her large fee=20 (which she wouldn’t tell me, but I guess is=20 in the region of R200 an hour ) has sunk=20 in, they begin to have doubts over whether=20 their mutt is worth the expense.
I was certainly sceptical. If you go with=20 her theories, forget all you have ever=20 thought about dogs being man’s best=20 friends. Think instead of them as your=20 natural enemies – turning your home into a=20 battleground. “Your dog is a potential=20 weapon which can turn on you if you=20 encourage its hunting instincts by=20 obedience training,” she argues. This is=20 her b=EAte noir. “Training develops predatory=20 instincts which can make a dog attack you – -or your children.”
Most people will not be pleased to hear of=20 their beloved pet as a potential foe, but=20 Whyte insists this is the case.”I have seen=20 dogs try to come between couples. They get=20 jealous and will play mind games, or simply=20 learn how to get your attention by playing=20 up.” This is manifested by such antics as=20 peeing in the house, chewing furniture and=20 jumping over people. She offers to show me=20 how to handle such behavioural problems.
So off we go one Sunday to visit a family=20 in Observatory, where a young Dobermann=20 puppy (though you would not think so by the=20 size of him) is driving his owners to=20 distraction. The couple and two young=20 daughters rush to the gate with harried=20 looks. “If you can’t help we’re thinking of=20 getting rid of him,” says the desperate=20 wife. “He won’t sit still even for a=20 moment. `’
Whyte, accustomed to being the last port of=20 call for problem pets, snaps into action.=20 We are instructed to ignore the animal on=20 entering the house. He can be heard whining=20 behind the closed front door. “No matter=20 what happens, don’t look at him or say=20 anything to him … That applies to you=20 too,” she says, turning to me. “Otherwise=20 you’ll have to stay in the car.” What! And=20 miss the show? No way, I’ll behave.
We enter, noses in the air. The Dobermann=20 bounds over, but realises immediately that=20 something is amiss. No one is paying=20 attention to his antics. He runs excitedly=20 between us. “Remember everyone, no looking.=20 Cover your face with your hands if he gets=20 too close.” As if sensing who his=20 challenger is (wooden cheetah earrings=20 hanging like trophies from Whyte’s ears are=20 probably a dead give-away), he=20 concentrates on her, zigzagging around her=20 feet and finally jutting his nose up her=20 bum. “That’s his way of insulting me,” she=20 says. Just as well that she is wearing=20 sensible “work clothes” – slacks and dog- print T-shirt.
What follows is a virtual re-run of the=20 scenario she predicted as we drove to the=20 house. Initially the dog puts on his “cute=20 act”, rolling on the living room carpet;=20 when that fails to get a reaction, he roots=20 into Whyte’s rucksack, takes out a bone and=20 exits the room. We continue our silent=20 treatment. He returns within minutes and=20 sits with his back to us – a kind of dog=20 fuck you! Whyte continues to chastise the=20 family for spoiling him and they squirm=20 uncomfortably.
“You must stop treating him as your=20 substitute son,” she tells the man on=20 hearing that he often wrestles with the=20 animal. The owners are also urged not to=20 shout, as this encourages attention-seeking=20 antics. She continues to talk and we=20 listen. “Dogs don’t automatically=20 understand what you are saying. When you=20 shout, they hear `woof woof’ and see that=20 as an invitation to play around even more.”
By the end of a two-hour session, which=20 includes various kinds of role-playing in=20 the house and in the garden, the dog is=20 calmly chewing a horse’s hoof (she says=20 this sobers him after an adrenalin high),=20 the grateful family has regained control of=20 their pet and parted with their money=20 smiling, tea and cakes have been consumed=20 and I am on my way to becoming a fan.
“Call me whenever you need me,” she tells=20 the family. “He’s going to be huge and will=20 try to control you if you don’t let me help=20 you develop his social skills. But you=20 must not believe anything you hear unless I=20 say it.”
It has been an impressive display. I think=20 of a couple of kids I would like to see put=20 through what she calls her deprogramming=20 process. “Many behavioural problems come=20 from people using their dogs, or children,=20 as an emotional mat, spoiling them until=20 they become absolute brats.”
Jogging, running, chasing, dieting, toys=20 and sharp commands – all lead to aggressive=20 hunting behavioural patterns, she says.=20 “Exercise makes him over-perform as a pet.=20 I don’t train. I educate. I get to know the=20 person inside the dog.” It may sound like=20 mumbo jumbo, but maybe you have to be just=20 a little off-beam to be an animal=20 behaviourist.=20
This may explain the frantic phone calls=20 with which she bombards me after our=20 meeting. Her concerns? That I don’t mention=20 much about her private life: “Please=20 concentrate on my work, that’s what’s=20 important.” And: “Don’t make me sound like=20 a crazy old lady who uses her dogs as an=20 emotional crutch. I’ve worked too hard to=20 build up my business by making people take=20 me seriously.”
It has taken exactly 30 years. Not that=20 she’s counting: “This is not a job, it’s a=20 cause. A gift, like that of a painter like=20 Picasso or a musician like Chopin.” What?=20 Yes, that’s right, her words, not mine.
Pam Whyte, the second of four children,=20 seems to have passed humans and gone=20 straight to animals. Her earliest=20 experiences of a dog was “being without=20 one”. She was about eight. “I felt an=20 emptiness in my life which could only be=20 filled by a dog.” Her parents bought a=20 cross-breed terrier. She taught it a few=20 tricks.
“I was pretty obsessed, and saw everything=20 through the eyes of dogs.” With hindsight,=20 she realised it was not the normal thought=20 process of a child. But it paved the way=20 for her to enter the business untrained in=20 1967, concentrating on home visits.=20
“Dogs have been my mentors,” she states=20 proudly. Surprisingly, she only owns four -=20 and one cat. “We are very good friends, but=20 they know I call the shots.”
She has written two books, the first in=20 1975, Her first, Who wants a Dog!, was=20 hailed by the London Times as providing a=20 “much-needed new approach” to dog-handling.=20 The second, Living with an Alien, is an=20 amusing look into what she calls dog=20 language. She is now making a teaching=20 video to spread her word further afield.