About Sarah.

Sarah Greeff BSC hons & I am a Qualified Teacher

I live on a croft in Muie, Rogart in the Scottish Highlands with Nick my Zimbabwean husband. I used to live in Seaview village and ran Isle of Wight Biltong for the previous ten years.

We moved back to the UK in 2010 to the Isle of Wight where I grew up. We met when I was doing Voluntary Service Overseas work in Zimbabwe in the late 1990’s.

Together we spent a couple of years in Hockley, Essex when I was teaching and then 8 years together running Safari Operations.

We managed Luambe National Park in Zambia and then a concession on the banks of the Zambezi River. We spent three years running Chishakwe Ranch in the middle of the Save Valley Conservancy.

It was where I met Peter, Stephanie and Rosemary from African Wildlife Conservation Fund. Our final year in Zim was spent near my favourite place, Victoria Falls, on our ranch just outside Hwange National Park.

It was in Zambia that I raised my first animal a tiny baby Mopane Squirrel, we successfully released him at adulthood by the Zambezi.

My next challenge was my first puppy a Maltese and her honorary brother Fundi a black lab. They lived the life of riley in our huge garden, with long walks in the bush, they lived out their old age with us here.

Our next dog was unplanned, a Springer who needed a home. We were her third one and she came with a host of problems, in time we managed them all and when she was three we had a planned litter of 12 sproodle puppies. We kept the smallest daughter, Tuli.

When she was 18 months she started barking when customers came into the shop and nothing we did would stop it. A neighbour showed me a book by Jan Fennell called the Dog Listener, I opened it up and the forward was by Monty Roberts.

This man was a God in my eyes as we had used all his horse whispering knowledge to raise a zebra who was orphaned when she was still only a day old. We looked after her until she was 9 months old and she lives on a Tikki Hywood Ranch near Harare.

Lots of people came and met her, walked with her, fed her, brushed and scratched her bottom which she loved. They all followed Montys clear simple advice so no-one was ever kicked or bitten.

Dog Listener and Breeder in the Scottish Highlands

How I became a Dog Listener

While on holiday in February 2019 I read Jan’s book The Dog Listener and started practicing on our dogs. Holy Moly …within two days their recall was instant, and it happened every time we called them. Our jaws were literally wide open in astonishment.

After reading The Dog Listener I looked Jan Fennell up online and so next I did the online course. I continued the work with my dogs and was so convinced drove to North Lincolnshire in April to do the Foundation Course taught by Jan. I came home and read every book she has written and more from her recommended reading list. In July I went on the Graduate course and after working hard to complete all the coursework and practice I have become a fully fledged Dog Listener. Before qualifying I had practiced on 14 dogs myself and completed the five assessed consultations.

I have also since read The Dog Guardian by Nigel Reed and watching his brilliant videos. He also follows the same four principles and was trained by Jan.

Jan’s son Tony Knight is also a Dog Listener and does lots online and on social media.