Dogs that can retrieve cash from ATMs and empty washing machines help disabled people lead more independent lives, but can they also help change disruptive teenagers' behaviour?
A unique TV experiment, "Dog House", follows five unruly youngsters as they're taught to become dog trainers. The idea is simple. Kids really like dogs. But can the skills involved in training them - patience, consistency, rewarding good behaviour – give these teenagers the discipline they need in their own lives?
The teens involved were put forward by local schools in West Sussex, who had run out of ideas of how to deal with them.
Liam was typical - 14 years old, sullen, aggressive, foul mouthed and about to be permanently excluded from school. Allie, Rob and Ellie, had similar problems – they couldn't concentrate, they didn't like being told what to do and they had serious anger problems. Katrina was different. She was so shy that she had developed agoraphobia, she suffered from depression and had taken herself out of mainstream education.
Gradually, working with the dogs began to have an impact on the kids. But, in order to fully appreciate the significance of what they were doing, they needed to meet the disabled people who benefited from having these dogs. The meetings had a profound impact on the teenagers. After meeting Eileen Hobson and her dog Sailor, Liam changed his ways and his unlikely friendship with severely disabled wheelchair user Eileen blossomed.
Two months into the course Liam began to connect with the dogs too - particularly a young yellow Labrador called Aero. The relationship flourished so much that the dog often knew instinctively what the teenager wanted him to do before he'd even asked. "He just knows," says Liam.
Liam's school noticed a huge change in his whole outlook. His teacher Nick Brown said "More than anything I see a confident and happy young man. It's been superb."
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