Country & Townhouse
Alice B-B visits The Dog House
Forty-eight hours at The Dog House in Wales and I could have stayed forever. My friend, Cosima Somerset (founder of Concierge London) was collecting her puppy, so I tagged along too. Started by dog whisperer Mark Thompson and his wife Gillian Quek in 1997, it’s a place for people who don’t have time to train their pets, for dog ‘behavioural’ issues or a five-star pooch holiday.
Heated chalets, classical music, training and country romps, with treats by Michel Roux. The Dog House is like public school, with equally steep fees (from £480 a week) but the result is a healthy, sweet-smelling dog, who’ll walk to heel, bark on demand and understand their owner.
I watched mouth agape, as Bear, my friend’s handsome white German shepherd with previous for chasing fluff, bounded across fields filled with flappy ducks, frilly-knickered chickens and gobbling turkeys, straight to his proud owner. This summer they launch an app – Dog Trainer in Your Pocket – so no excuse for mutts with bad manners.
