About

My name is Ross Allan, a dog trainer of some 50 years of experience at the time of this writing.

Why my book?

Because it is simple, practical, makes sense and is easy to understand.

Also it has been evaluated by numerous people both nationally and internationally who have many, many years of practicable experience in this field.

All have given it their support and comments from, ‘at last an honest dog training book’ to, ‘finally a book with no frills, no marketing spin, practicable and is entertaining to read.’

Want to train your dog be a good member of our society and to obey when told?

Then be prepared to make a commitment and put in the hours.

Some owners will have an easy run of it depending on their ability and if they have an easy dog in the first place.

Other owners will have a longer project ahead.

But you can almost always improve the general behaviour of dogs and reach the point where they are a joy to live with.

Domesticated dogs are usually confused and actually do not know how to behave in the way the owner needs it to.

In this sense, this book will certainly help.

I have a great deal of experience and success in rehabilitating problem behaviours of dogs, and training dogs in certain areas such as obedience. Do I have all the answers? No I don’t.

I also have have an obsessive interest in the mind of the dog.
Do I know how all dogs think and how they reason? No I don’t.

Do I have all the answers in my book to dogs health problems? I certainly do not, that is why I reference people or websites that are particularly helpful.

If you follow the advice given in this book can you train any dog? Of course not.

Not all dogs were ever bred to be obedient and complaint in this sense for a start, and most dogs can be stubborn in a variety of ways. There are breeds of dogs that were genetically geared for a purpose such as hunting or guarding with a compliant nature such as Rottweilers, German Shepherds.

Ross’s attraction to dogs surfaced as a toddler, much to his Mother’s concern as he was often bitten on the face as a result of running up to strange dogs and giving them an enthusiastic hug. The author’s interest in dog training was stimulated by the “Rin Tin Tin”® series, and by consuming the numerous books available those days from public libraries about Police and Military man-dog teams.

A Border-Collie cross called Taza was given to the author as his own dog when he was twelve years old (pictured below). He trained Taza to do a large variety of tricks and in his own words, “the dog must have trained itself, because I never had much idea of what I was doing. I just contributed a great deal of time and effort, and most importantly I guess, we had an incredible bond and he rewarded me”. Ross joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1968 when he was 19 years of age as a trainee medical orderly, then re-mustering, to general hand as a result of opting off the course.

Ross’s postings landed him at Williamtown NSW where he first discovered the Police Dog mustering. A mutual love of tennis led him to Greg Meldrum where a great friendship was born. Greg’s father was the commanding officer, Group Captain Tom Meldrum who assisted Ross to gain entry into the RAAF Police Dog Training Centre, Toowoomba, QLD. Ross graduated in 1970 with honours as “Dux of Course” and trainer of the “Top Dog of Course”. Six months later, (1971) Flt. Lt. Bill Perrett, OC of the mustering, conducted his annual assessments of the man-dog teams throughout Australia, Malaya and Singapore, awarding Ross and his dog P.D. Pal, third place.

Flt. Lt. Perrett’s annual assessments the following year found Ross and P.D. Pal awarded the prestigious “Perrett Trophy” for “Top Man Dog Team Royal Australian Air Force 1972”. Ross left the RAAF in 1974, joining the Queensland Police Force. He continued to train dogs on and off in his own time until 1985, when he set up a training complex at Struck Oil, Mount Morgan, QLD, initially assisted by Bill Perrett, then retired.

Ross declined an invitation to join the QLD. Police Dog Squad in 1977 from Snr Sgt. Cec Austin, as he was enjoying himself as a general duties officer stationed at Ipswich at the time. Ross has had hands-on training of some two thousand dogs between those he has trained himself for the public and classes over the years, of a wide variety of breeds and temperaments, in the area of obedience, protection and tracking.

Ross’s expertise led him to be accepted as an expert witness on dog behaviour at the Federal Court of Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, in the case of Orion (Innotek) versus RSPCA. Ably assisted by his wife Margaret, sons Christopher and Jeffrey, as well as daughter Aleisa for many years; he now lives in semi-retirement at his complex at Mt. Morgan.

Ross has seen many changes to dog training over the years, and whilst not critical of newer systems, he still believes that for the average dog owner, simplicity is best. Train a dog with patience and reward, firmness and kindness, and the dog should work for a kind word and a pat from the owner.

Ross’s experience spans over 50 years, and is the Author of “DOG OBEDIENCE TRAINING” Published by TFH. His concepts of training based on working dog ethics have gained him recognition from both the law enforcement industry and obedience trialling arenas. His research into behavioural problems is proving invaluable when it comes to solving training problems.