Yellow Dog UK was originally developed by Eva Oliversson, a certified dog behaviourist and trainer in Sweden in June 2012. She discovered a dog trainer in Australia had been using yellow ribbons to signify that a dog needed space. It was the answer that Eva had been working toward – she knew if a dog felt safe and secure and had its own space it could help with training and socialising.
Eva contacted a group of people around the world in various dog related industries to host the campaign in their respective countries. At the time my partner was running a dog boarding agency, as soon as he started reading up on Yellow Dogs, he realised what a fantastic idea it was and quickly signed up.
We had experience ourselves with a nervous dog who had been previously attacked in a local park. Before the incident he was such a loving pooch, but following the attack became petrified of other dogs and was not comfortable around males at all. It was a long road back, physically and emotionally for him, but we knew we had to rebuild his confidence and learn how to re-socialise him. We needed everything to be on both ours and his terms, and he needed his own space to do that.
Over the last ten years we have grown considerably. We exhibit at major events including Crufts and are now supported and sponsored by councils, vets, dog trainers and police forces, including Humberside Police, Centre of Applied Pet Ethology, National Association of Pet Sitters, and Dog Walkers (NARPS), British Dog Fields, Heal The Dog, Dog First Aid Merseyside as well as many others.
Some Dogs Need Space – it seems such a simple message! We believe that making yellow an accepted representation throughout the UK will benefit many and make dog walking a more enjoyable and safer experience for all, and in turn, and most importantly, give your dog a better quality of life.
Our aims are for the colour yellow on a dog to be nationally recognised as a sign that this dog needs space. We want to see information about yellow dogs in local parks, on council websites, in vets and groomers. Simple rules for a simple message – Please don’t approach a dog wearing yellow, or its people, with your dog as they are clearly indicating that their dog cannot be close to other dogs. Please allow the dog and owner to pass, please move to one side or cross the road or put your dog on its lead. Though simplistic in it’s messaging, we feel that The Yellow Dog motto can be easily infiltrated into all of our dog walking routines!
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