For the past several years, James Lech has served as an advisor to dog owners around the world. A recognized authority on canine psychology and physical rehabilitation he has been honored consistently for his simple approach and humanitarian endeavors. Dubbed by the media and other professionals as “Africa’s Dog Whisperer”. His humanitarian efforts involve helping shelters raise funds, training demonstrations and transformation programs. Lech has directly impacted the lives of thousands of people with his TV and radio shows, written articles, public speaking engagements and live events.
What began as a young person’s desire to help individuals transform the quality of their lives with their canine friend has grown into Lech’s lifelong crusade as he is called on by leaders from every walk of life- political leaders, advocates for humanity, scientists, trainers, psychologists, behaviorists, peak performance trainers, veterinarians, entertainers, teachers, and parents.
Lech is a gifted and well-renowned dog behavioral specialist, who has achieved an extremely high dog physical and psychological rehabilitation success rate and status in South Africa. James has gained experience through working with a variety of dogs, from Pugs to Rottweilers, with a wide range of behavioral issues, anything from insecurity to severe ”Red Zone” aggression.
James promises to transform any deviant dog and his/her owner’s life through his profound understanding of canine psychology; all realized by revisiting dogs’ behaviour in their natural environment, where life and survival centre around pack leadership. As a dog owner and lover, it is essential to understand this concept and behave accordingly, as the pack leader. The secret is not to allow your dog to “lead” you, you need to lead him/her. The essence is to strike a balance by following James’ premise of following the rule of nature.
Our primary objective, in James’ words, is “to help humans become more in touch with nature through their dogs so that they can both live a happy and well balanced life”
Thus cases across the spectrum shall be covered – from over-spoilt lap dogs to hyper active collies; attention-seeking mutts to cowering curs; aggressive bandits to barking maniacs; lazy, fat ladies to fussy little eaters; over bred ‘aristocrats’ to mangy cross breeds; over sexed males to dominant females ….and so, the list goes on. We will find our cast from all over the country including glitzy gated areas, shady shanties, opulent apartments, faraway farms, suburban homes, peri-urban plots, rural retreats, troubled townships…Anywhere and everywhere where people have a difficulty with their dog, be it a guard dog or a pampered pet.
More about James
Born in South Africa into a family of healers (Doctors, Geneticists and Scientists), it was only natural that he would go on to become a healer himself, although he did not expect to become a Shaman in the realm of dogs. As a child, James was able to tune-in, communicate with and understand nature, energy and animals on a deeper level.
- Holds an Animal Wrangler License. State issued Animal(Dog) Training License.
- Is an Accredited Behaviorist in Advanced Canine Management (UK)
- A member of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)
- A member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP) – Professional Level.
- A Provider Member of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)).
- A Provider Member on The United States Service Dog Registry.
- Body Ecologist
- Consultant and speaker to shelter groups and non-profit organizations. Click here to find out more…
- Consultant and Trainer to Veterinarians.
- A writer for dog related articles for different publications. Click here to find out more…
- Host of the radio show “Dog Whispering with the Dog Shaman James Lech” on ChaiFM.
- Guest speaker on radio and TV shows.Click here to find out more…
- Speaker at the South African World of Dogs and Cats Expo (WODAC).
- Main speaker at the MARS – Manufacturers of Pedigree & Royal Canine Food fun day.
- A guest speaker at the South African Butler Academy.
- A guest speaker at Dog Breeder Associations.
Hi James, your website looks great. I particularly love the “Cooking meals to share with your dog”! I’m actually a cat person, but all this makes me want to get a puppy! Warm regards, Rikki
Thank you for the wonderful comment. Congratulations on wanting to get a dog. My sister just got her first one ever yesterday and as you can see by the posts I have been posting a lot of puppy raising ones lately in order to help her out
Dear Cat
Thank you for your email. I cannot comment on the past of Mike but only on what he has been awarded and done. From what I have seen in the press he has made great efforts to turn his life around. He helps train service dogs to assist the disabled, he helps with the adoption of over 1300 dogs a year. He has received national and state awards for this and I can only comment on this. He is in the US and us in South Africa. Many people commit crimes, I don’t know or have the full details of his case but from my understanding society asks us to appreciate and monitor a person’s change. You monitoring and checking his movements is naturally a great support and reminder to him of his past sins and helping him avoiding those past sins again.
I thank you for your comments but I don’t see it fair of me to punish a man that your state, law and public citizens has punished, accepted his apology and his commitment to change.
Many thanks in advance
James
Hey there
I wonder if you can maybe help me…
I have a red Cocker Spaniel female (Mina) that is almost 3 years old, I have had her since she was a baby she is very loving and cute.
We also have min pins and when she was small they got along great but as she got bigger she started acting up against them and even attacked my female Pippe. We had to take her to the vet to get stitches, since then we separated them and everything was fine but I still do not let them get close to each other.
I recently adopted a rescue black Cocker Spaniel male (Milo) from the SPCA.
He is very loving and playful I think he is around 1 and a half years old.
I put Mina and him together and now she keeps on attacking him.
I don’t want to get rid of him but I can’t leave it because I am scared that she will injure him
Any advice?…
Hi Lilanie
Thank you for your comment. If the fighting is really bad, then the best advice is to seek professional assistance in your area or to book a session with me since I do travel all over the place. This can be rehabilitated
Due to the safety concerns of you and the dogs, it is best to have an experienced person work with you on the problem.
Please help. I have a boerbul – a female. She is a beautiful dog and is fine at home. The problem is when we go for walks [which she absolutely loves] she wants to bite me at the beginning of the walk. I have stopped using a lead as I am too scared. We drive to our walk now but then when I let her out the car she again tries to bite me and has nipped me a few times. Today she showed horrid aggression – I was shaken. 30 seconds later and the rest of the walk she is mostly fine and we walk past many people and dogs. She is a little nervous but she listens and walks with no lead and loves the walk. She is completely calm when she gets back into the car and when we get home. Please please help. I got the dog trainer and he made the problem worse. The vet said I must put her down but I just can’t.
Good afternoon Michelle
Thank you for your email. When it comes to aggression, yes one must always call in a professional. As you witnessed, when it’s a mild behavioral problem, yes, dog training can assist but when it’s more severe, 90% of the dog, dog training will only make things much worse. I don’t agree with your vet that your dog needs to be put down. As I prove this time and time again with cases.
What you will need to do is go to my website http://www.good-dog.co.za and click on the book a session link in order to book a session.
I look forward to helping you bring nature and balanced between you and your beloved dog.
Hey Mr. Lech,
I have a specific kind of problem regarding my now 8 month old pit bull mix and I am hoping that it could be resolved with your help. In the past, I had learned that apparently “claiming” a dog’s food is one of many aspects that allow a dog owner to maintain the higher status but I now realize, through extensive research, that this is not entirely true and the act itself is some what unnecessary. Basically, when my dog was about a month old I went through the process of putting my hand in the food bowl as a means of measuring my own status ( I started this process about two weeks after getting my dog). I think that it was own the 3rd day of this practice that he finally bit me; I reacted by chasing him away from his food angrily and he went and laid down practically on the other side of the backyard. I tried again later that night, repeated the process of putting my hand in the bowl and from my perspective, this process had become successful and I continued to do this a week or so after this night. Things started falling downhill from here with regards to feeding time. When I give him his food now, he maintains a submissive stance with his body low to the ground and tail between his legs. He also eats pretty fast and to the point to where he does not chew his food and, as no one can blame him, he continues to pick his head up from eating to make sure that I am not coming up behind him to take his food. I admit that it actually took me awhile to acknowledge this as a serious problem but I did and I attempted to solve it myself but to no avail. My only option now is to get help from an external source. What should I do to resolve this? -thank you.