Testimonials

“I have had dogs all my life , I am a breeder and a successful show goer I had seen and followed Jan Fennel for many years and had implemented Amichien Bonding with my pack and had good results, however I got complacent and found with my growing pack I had some tensions, that was developing into behaviours that I didn’t want. And which was making them unhappy. I decided to ask for help, even though I am a very experienced dog handler, It is important to ask for help as another pair of eyes looking on with no emotional attachment is always good. Susan visited me and my 6 dogs and watched. She worked out a plan of action for me and within a short time the results were obvious. I have been able to speak to her by email or telephone to discuss my training as an ongoing development.My advice to anyone is don’t be too proud to ask for help, Susan is professional, understanding and full of good solid advice which will help you have a good relationship with your dog/dogs after all that’s what we have them for to love and enjoy.”

Amanda Naylor

“Sue has given me the skills and the confidence to listen to my dogs and to use them to make my dogs life much less stress free. My dogs and I are a team now, they no longer have to take care of me. This has paid dividends out and about including in the show ring where my young boy now looks at me as if to say “hey mum, I can do this because you are here with me” Thanks Sue for your time, patience and support when things got tough.”

Lindsey S

“Life with Shona, the ex-working foxhound had started so well, but after just two weeks we were at the doctor’s surgery having Mick’s badly bitten hand bandaged up. We had no idea what to do next, and the obvious option was too awful to contemplate.

We were clearly out of our depth but we didn’t want to give up on Shona, so we called in a Dog Listener (Susan Matcham) who taught us the Amichien Bonding technique, which means learning to talk dog. She drew us up an Action plan to wrest leadership from Shona, which I posted on the fridge as a constant reminder for us, and visitors were briefed on how to follow the guidelines, which were also on clear display. It took just a couple of weeks for us to start to see a difference. As Mick regained his confidence with Shona, so she settled and her face softened. Several weeks later, her aggression towards Mick had stopped. I was completely convinced that Amichien Bonding was working the next time someone was shooting nearby. She jumped at the first bang, but looked at me, saw that I wasn’t worried and went back to sleep. Now she doesn’t even flinch on Bonfire Night, and will happily go outside while our neighbours are letting off fireworks.

Shona has been with us for nearly four years now, and will be 10 years old very soon. We feel privileged to have been able to allow her to relax and enjoy the latter part of her life, thanks to Wood Green rescuing her and getting her back to good health, Sue Matcham and Amichien Bonding.”
Read more of this full story here.

Mick and Amanda B.

“Sue is a lovely lady who genuinely wants to help you and your dog. What she says makes a lot of sense, especially when she shows you, with your dog, it works ! We had a confused field spaniel and with Sue in charge of him he was angelic. It took us longer but this system does work. She is gentle and non-threatening. There is no shouting and no painful equipment.
I cannot recommend her highly enough.
Best wishes”

Viccy Hall (Peterborough)

“It is quite a challenge to put into words the difference that Sue and her knowledge of Amichien Bonding has made to our beautiful Golden Retriever Poppy, and consequently to the whole family. Poppy was a real Alpha and without working with her in this way we have no doubt the early warning signs of dominant behaviour would have developed into serious problems. This would have caused a great deal of stress and unhappiness for Poppy and for us. Sue’s approach has been empathetic, supportive and totally non-judgemental throughout and the ongoing support (years after first meeting her) has given us a great deal of security. Poppy still asks questions regarding her place in the pack but thanks to Sue’s exceptional understanding and teaching, we now have the answers. We honestly cannot recommend her highly enough.”

Katharine Leat

“Regular fights between a Great Dane and a Labrador Retriever cross are no fun…I know this from experience!!
This was the situation we found ourselves in approximately 6 months after adopting a 5 year old Labrador, Oscar, and introducing him to our 3 year old Great Dane, Bentley.
The first few months had been a marvellous honeymoon period filled with plenty of “aahhhs” as the guys used to play together and curl up in their beds together. Then Oscar’s confidence in his new home grew and once he’d got his feet very firmly under the table, he started to throw his weight around. Which of course, Bentley objected to in the strongest possible terms!
Basically, their levels of aggression towards each other grew at a swiftly and alarming rate, particularly around food and toys, to the extent that they drew blood on one another on more than one occasion. We were at breaking point and distraught at the prospect of possibly having to re-home Oscar when a friend told us about Jan Fennell. She offered me one of Jan’s books but I didn’t have the time to read it…I was desperate. I Googled to find if Jan had any consultants in the area and found Sue’s details. Literally, within 10 minutes of hearing about Jan Fennell, I was leaving a message on Sue’s answering phone and keeping my fingers crossed that I’d hear back quickly.

Within the hour, Sue phoned me back and listened patiently whilst I poured out the whole story. She was sympathetic and understanding but at the same time, strong and encouraging that something probably could be done. I think she could hear the desperation in my voice (it probably wasn’t hard!) and, bearing in mind this was a Friday late afternoon, she offered to give up her family commitments on the Sunday to come and see us. As guilty as I felt at that, I grabbed the lifeline with both hands! I should point out that Sue made me no promises about turning around their behaviour but there was something in her quiet confident manner that gave me a sense of optimism.

When we saw Sue on the Sunday she was lovely, instantly put us at ease, and was quick to point out this was no-one’s fault (the guilt you’re feeling at this stage by having introduced the second dog is enormous!). Curiously to us one at a time, Sue had very little interest in meeting the gruesome twosome as they’d become “affectionately” known to us. She spent all of her time (from memory, I think it was about 4 hours) just concentrating on us. Rebuilding our confidence and giving us the tools and coping mechanisms to move forward. I won’t go into these here, that’s Sue’s domain and she’s much better at it!!
What this approach means is that Sue’s teaching YOU not your dog(s). Although we were initially surprised that she wasn’t bothered about seeing the dogs, this makes sense on so many levels.

* Firstly, YOU’RE the one that’s educated with these new life skills (vital for your current dog but hopefully useful for many more to come too).
* Secondly, YOU’RE the one who then goes on to make a difference with your dog. They see YOU as pack-leader, YOU get the thrill and satisfaction from leading their change in behaviour.
* Thirdly, how many times do your dogs do something perfectly for guests, because they’re new and exciting, but then when it’s back to the normal household they return to their old habits!

Once Sue felt confident that we’d covered all the ground necessary and we’d asked all our questions, then she offered to see the dogs if that’s what we wanted. We thought it would be useful and so Sue then patiently spent another couple of hours with us and Bentley & Oscar, showing us the basics and how to respond to them testing our boundaries.
Sue was on hand for phone calls and e-mail support in the immediate aftermath and to date, has always been incredibly patient, quick with her responses and supportive. I’m honestly not sure whether we could have got through the situation without Sue’s support and guidance. Now we have two happy “brothers” who love to walk together, play together, French kiss each other (yuk!!) and sometimes sleep together.
NB I have now read Jan Fennell’s book and watched her DVD, both of which I can highly recommend as useful prompts/reminders of what Sue’s covered in much greater detail…!!!
You can probably tell from this review that I’m a fan! The only other thing I can add is “thanks Sue” x

Catherine Wilson