house, according to a leading British dog psychologist and trainer.

But there's help in store for owners of spoilt dogs with Bermudian-born Mrs.

Margaret Watlington Allen's visit to the Island this month.

As the owner of nine dogs, Mrs. Allen's philosophy is that they should fit in with people, not the other way around.

She believes that letting a dog "walk all over you'' and "come up to your level'' leads to behavioural problems such as incessant barking, not coming when called, pulling on the leash -- general disobedience.

So next time your beloved pooch plonks itself down on the couch, almost pulls you to the ground during walk-time, helps itself to dinner, or simply refuses to do as told, be firm and lay down the rules.

Mrs. Allen believes one of the worst mistakes dog owners make is being inconsistent in their demands.

"Being inconsistent as in one day allowing the dog on the furniture and the next day not, will result in his always trying to test you and wanting his own way,'' she said.

Failing to walk and spend quality time with your pet also results in discipline problems, such as aggression, she said.

She would never advise a family to keep a dog that has bitten more than once, saying "aggression has to be in a dog to come out''. Proper training may help, she said, but there is always a chance the dog will bite again once back in the same environment.

Mrs. Allen will help frustrated dog owners come to terms with these sort of discipline problems during a series of training courses slated for the end of the month.

However, the courses are geared more towards people wanting to acquire a puppy or young dog, and those who already have one and want to "get off on the right foot''.

"A well-behaved dog is a pleasure to have around and it makes him happy if his owner is pleased with him,'' she said.

"There are hundreds of types of dogs and hundreds of different approaches to training them, but certain basics apply across the board. Dogs are pack animals and if we understand their drives and instincts it will help us in training them.'' Mrs. Allen, who recently appeared on the cover of top UK-country-life magazine `The Field', runs a "boarding school'' at her West Dorset home for up to 12 dogs at a time who are mostly Labradors and Springers with some German Shepherds, Boxers, Dachshunds and cavalier King Charles.

She became interested in dog training as a young girl when she attended one of the first courses on dog training in Bermuda. She "fell in love'' with Labradors when her aunt Mrs. Judy Montgomery Moore imported them to Bermuda.

Mrs. Allen has been training dogs for more than 20 years, returning to the Island for a brief spell in the early 1980s to teach windsurfing for her brother Mr. Hubert Watlington. During that time she in fact became the Island's first female boat pilot.

Mrs. Allen breeds Tanderswell Labradors, English Springers and Cockers, competing widely with them.

In her spare time she gives demonstrations and lectures throughout the southwest of England. And she judges retriever field trials and working tests in all gundog (hunting) breeds.

The training courses are set for May 25 and 26 and June 1 and 2 at Admiralty House. For more information Mrs. Allen can be contacted at 238-1681.

FITTING IN -- Dog trainer Mrs. Margaret Watlington Allen, who believes dogs should be made to fit in with people, not the other way around, relaxes at home in West Dorset with her English Springers Mint and Fennel.