Jeni Osbourne is developing a training programme for young dog-owners to reduce the number of young people involved in dog fighting and antisocial behaviour…

Jeni's story

I'm developing a programme to set up a network of dog clubs on estates. The School for Social Entrepreneurs has been really useful and it's been good to bounce my ideas off people.

I've been a youth worker for almost 25 years but I'm not an animal person myself. My idea came out of my own irritation when I was in a park and a dog jumped all over me and the person who was with it had no control of the dog.  So, one of the challenges in setting up this programme has been to find someone who likes and understands dogs.

I've found a dog trainer who's also got a positive attitude to young people and now I'm looking for a local authority who'll work with me on the pilot programme.

I'm targeting the so called 'hard to reach' – young people who may be or likely to become involved in dog fighting. I think there's a massive fear element when people see a group of young people and maybe they're talking loudly and are a little unpredictable. The fear comes out of not knowing the young person and the negative publicity young people receive. Having a youth work background has meant that at times I had to interact with vulnerable group in challenging circumstances. This has helped me develop this project.

The carrot is giving people an alternative in how they interact with their dog. To enable young people to understand their pet and provide boundaries for their dogs.  It's about educating people in how to look after their dogs and giving them alternatives in interacting and competing with their pets. For many young and older people their dogs are often their best friend as well as being a source of comfort. They don't want to lose them.

There are obvious risks involved particularly when you consider the type of dogs we're working with, it's going to be difficult to have them together in the same space. We have had to consider this thoroughly. The plan is to have a fixed number of dogs with a trainer and a youth worker and have interactive training sessions over a number of weeks. This would lead to competitions and accredited learning.   We will use a variety of youth work techniques to recruit young people which includes talking to young people on the street, depending upon local need and strategies. We plan to do general educational awareness sessions in schools or youth clubs.

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Jeni is developing the Young People and Pet Education Programme with support from the School for Social Entrepreneurs. The School supports fledgling entrepreneurs by providing training, including on-line support, inspirational speakers, project visits, action learning, 1-2-1 coaching and mentoring. The programme is funded by London Councils as part of the wider 'Transforming Lives of Londoners' programme led by Social Enterprise London.