Lauren Thomas is the Dachshund Rescue coordinator for London, Berkshire and East Sussex.
She has always had animals in her life and grew up around horses. She became a dachshund owner 8 years ago when Blue came into her life. Lauren had until this point worked with gun dogs and assistance dogs and she was fascinated by the complete difference in the psychology of dachshunds and other breeds of dogs.
Lauren Thomas, the Dachshund Rescue coordinator for London, Berkshire and East Sussex
Lauren’s dog, Blue, had a few behaviour issues when settling into his new home with her, and she was eager to work on helping him to improve.
She worked alongside a behaviourist and was fascinated to learn that the drives behind most breeds differ from those of the dachshund.
She discovered that for most dogs the main drive is to please the owner and gain their praise. Dachshunds have other ideas!!!!! Lauren was fascinated by what she was learning and how it changed her normal ways of dog training.
She has worked for dog charities, training assistance dogs for people with physical and mental disabilities. The role meant spending time working with the dogs to learn their personalities so that she could then find the owner best suited for each particular dog.
As you can imagine these skills fit alongside her work for the charity perfectly.
Lauren’s work in training assistance dogs was ideal experience for her role with Dachshund Rescue
More recently Lauren has been working for a charity that puts together teams of dogs and horses that act as therapy for children and adults of all disabilities.
Whether it be the physical exercise or emotional connection she finds the right ways in which animals can help. As you can imagine this is incredibly rewarding work.
One of Lauren’s concerns is how many owners expect their dogs to conform completely to their lifestyle.
She has learnt through her work with disabled children and adults that communication is sometimes difficult and you need to find different ways to relate to people.
This has made her very aware that the same is true of our dachshunds and that often they communicate their underlying emotions through aggression and barking.
She believes that sometimes we need to try to view situations through their eyes, to help us to recognise the cause of their anxieties, and then try to avoid those triggers in the future or find a way to work around them. Some good advice for all dachshund owners.
As a rescue coordinator, she wants people who apply to adopt, to do so only when they are completely ready to make the necessary commitment.
It is not always practical to believe our dachshunds can be “fixed” with their behaviour but they can improve tremendously with hard work.
Lauren has only been in her rescue coordinator role with us for a few months and she has really enjoyed meeting lots of new people and helping to find our dachshunds’ wonderful new homes.
She has loved being part of our team and is learning every day how different every situation is.
As you’d expect, Lauren is very busy and, like many of our coordinators, is always on the lookout for extra help.
If you are in and around Lauren’s neck of the woods and think you might be able to help with Home Checks, Transport, or anything else to support her in her work as a rescue coordinator for Dachshund Rescue, get in touch, she’d love to hear from you. You’ll find Lauren’s contact details here.
We’re always on the lookout for good people. If you’d like to get involved in the work we do, check out the information on our volunteer roles here.
