As a dog trainer who counts royalty among her clients, Tracey Egan charges thousands for canine “boot camps” to lick even the most boisterous pet into shape. Then came Izzy, the wire-haired fox terrier.
Izzy’s owner is suing Ms Egan, 35, saying her dog was still badly-behaved despite her paying £2,800 for a fortnight’s behaviour training.
Jenny King, 69, said the dog, who she bought at ten months old, was “terrifying” and would routinely jump up and bite her, drawing blood. Izzy was dispatched to Miss Egan’s home in southwest London for two weeks in April at £200 a day for house training and to teach her basic commands, and also to stop her nipping and jumping.
By mid-May, after the dog was returned to Ms King, she was up to her old tricks. Now Ms King has sent Izzy to a fox terrier rescue centre in Norfolk. She said: “I was so upset, I was absolutely devastated. I could cry at the very thought of it.”
The pair exchanged a flurry of emails, with Ms Egan saying she had “honestly never seen such a nippy, jumpy dog” as when Izzy first arrived, but insisting that the poor behaviour was down to a lack of walkies.
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“I stick by my experience and knowledge of your dog,” she said. “I do not believe she is having the exercise she needs, otherwise she wouldn’t be doing these things.” Ms King has denied the claims, saying that she did walk the dog sufficiently.
Ms King, a retired university lecturer, eventually asked for a refund, and about a month ago began proceedings in the small claims court for £2,800. Ms Egan insisted she had received a letter on Saturday saying proceedings would not continue due to a lack of evidence, but Ms King last night maintained they were still going ahead.
Ms Egan strongly contests Ms King’s allegations. She said she does not ask clients to pay until the dog has been back with them a week, to ensure they are happy. She said: “She is a highly strung fox terrier. She needs at least an hour off the lead every day.” She added: “All she had to do was take the dog for a walk — and she only lives a five minute walk from Regent’s Park.”
The Kennel Club became involved, telling The Sunday Telegraph: “The Kennel Club would always insist that dog owners are present during training because they need to learn how to control and understand their dog if there is to be a long-lasting impact.”
It is not the first dispute Ms Egan has encountered in her profession. Last year she hit headlines over an unpaid bill she sent to Princess Sara bint Talal bin Abdulaziz, of Saudi Arabia.
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There is controversy over the best way to train a dog. Last year, experts in France said that the techniques pioneered by Barbara Woodhouse in the 1970s — where owners assert themselves over pets — could be causing them mental trauma and stress, even if they obeyed.