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The familiar commands of "Sit!" and "Walkies!" will forever conjure up images of one of the dog world's most colourful and formidable characters, Barbara Woodhouse. Already in her 70’s, the vicar's daughter from Ireland rocketed to stardom in the 1980s, after being given her own BBC TV series, Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way. Her methods of dog training were based on the belief there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. Yet despite becoming a household name, she also came under fire for some of her training methods, which centred on gaining dominance over the dog. Although not everyone agreed with her technique, including her habitual criticism of the dogs' owners on television, the eccentric trainer remains a legend 30 years after her death.   Early years The daughter of Rev William Blackburn and Leilah Blackburn (who ran a dog boarding kennels), Barbara was born in Rathfarnham, Ireland, in May 1910 and was brought up in Dublin. As a youngster, Barbara loved the dogs at her mother's kennels and would spend hours talking to them, soon realising she had an affinity with animals. Her father's death in 1919 led to Barbara and her widowed mother moving to Headington in Oxford. Barbara completed her education at Harper Adams Agricultural College in Shropshire, where she was the only female student. After college, she spent three years in Argentina, working at stables as a horse trainer. She then returned home to Headington and opened her own dog kennels in the 1930s. She married Dr Michael Woodhouse in 1940. While continuing to run the kennels, she also began to write non-fiction books on training dogs. By now the mother-of-three, Barbara wrote her autobiography, Talking to Animals, in 1954, when she was 44 years old. She also wrote No Bad Dogs: Training Dogs My Way, Encyclopaedia of Dogs and Puppies, Walkies, Barbara's World of Horses and Ponies, and Just Barbara.   Television career Barbara had made a short documentary in 1955, called Love Me, Love My Dog, in which she was training Juno, a Great Dane. It was broadcast in cinemas across the UK, promoting her skills as a dog trainer. When it was announced she was releasing a record on dog training in 1967, there were advance sales of 25,000 copies. However, it was her BBC television series, Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way, that led to Barbara's legendary status. Always a forceful character, she wrote a letter to BBC chiefs in 1980, pointing out she was already an author and film-maker and suggesting it was time the station gave her a dog training show! BBC producer Peter Riding liked what he read and amazingly, Barbara was given her own TV show as a result. Filmed at her home in Hertfordshire, it was a huge hit and was broadcast internationally, making her a massive star - largely thanks to her quirky character, as much as her dog training skills. She was the first ordinary member of the public to host a television show based on her knowledge, rather than the usual type of shows, hosted by celebrity presenters. It first aired on 7th January 1980 on BBC2 and turned Barbara into an overnight star - albeit a controversial one, as she became famous for targeting the owners for their errant behaviour, rather than the dogs! She would bark out commands to the owners and woe betide any of them who didn't obey! Despite her abrupt attitude, she had a kindly side and campaigned for more humane crates for transporting dogs in cars. Household name Barbara's first series ran for 10 episodes and she became a popular figure in the United States, as well as in the UK. She was soon a household name and her catchphrases of "Sit!" and "Walkies!" achieved legendary status. Pop band the Barron Knights released a spoof record called The Sit Song in 1982, while the 1983 James Bond film, Octopussy, starring Roger Moore, featured a scene when 007 was about to be attacked by a tiger - so he put up his hand and commanded it to "Sit!" in his best Barbara Woodhouse voice! It was even more surprising when the tiger sat down. She went on to make two further TV series, Barbara's Problem Dogs and Barbara Woodhouse's World of Horses and Ponies. Receiving up to 400 fan letters a day, Barbara was recognised all the time when she went out, with fans shouting, "Walkies!" as she passed them in the street. Legacy Following her death in 1988, at the age of 78, her legacy lives on. Even today, three decades later, newspaper articles still refer to her dog training methods and sparky personality and she has become embedded in modern culture. Some 21st-century celebrity dog trainers, such as Victoria Stilwell, in her Channel 4 show, It's Me or the Dog, have embraced Barbara's idea of asserting dominance over the dog and becoming "pack leader". However, dog psychologists have disagreed, saying this can make your pet anxious through fear. A 2014 study claimed it was far better to reward dogs with a treat for good behaviour, rather than shouting out commands and ruling them through dominance, as kindness led to a better relationship with the owner. Research was published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, after two different types of dog training were observed: one used "negative reinforcement" (as advocated by Barbara Woodhouse) and the other used "positive reinforcement". The latter proved to be the most effective. In 2017, a news article about the political TV show, Question Time, with David Dimbleby, reported how an audience member had described Prime Minister Theresa May as a "difficult woman", in relation to the Brexit negotiations. Although the comment was meant in a negative way, the women's page of The Telegraph described the description as the "ultimate compliment" and suggested that Barbara Woodhouse had been a similarly "difficult woman". The article suggested the description was a "tacit acknowledgement of her power" and was simply an admission that people were "a little bit scared of her" - an apt reflection of the dog owners' feelings on Barbara's show in the 1980s! Walkies with Griggs As a stockist of high-quality outdoor clothing and leisurewear, with top brands that include Hunter and Joules, our clothing is ideal when it’s time for "walkies" with your four-legged friends!