Kate met with Jamie after her rescue dog Ray ran after a sheep on a walk. Ray is a Brittany Spaniel, who was bought to the UK by Save our Spaniels (SoS), and Kate has had him since he was two years old.

Ray was good at training and learnt basic commands quickly, and so when Kate took him walking, he was always allowed off lead.

“I used to walk him regularly on Kit Hill just over the border in Cornwall where I lived at the time, a great area with a flooded quarry, all kinds of tracks, quite a few moor ponies and no sheep,” Kate said.

Ray.Ray. (Image: Kate Spencer) “I decided for a change to take Ray, who now had excellent recall and was always allowed off-lead, to a favourite moor where I had gone regularly with my previous dog. Ray loved it, particularly when a sheep jumped out onto the track we were following and he went after it like a bullet totally ignoring my call - to be fair I doubt he even heard, his focus was entirely on the sheep which ran to its flock and the whole lot took off at speed with my dear Ray chasing  trying to grab a leg to bring one down.

“I was appalled and utterly unable to do a thing, trying to run after them was hopeless and they simply disappeared over a distant hill.  Ray was missing for an hour and a half, eventually someone called me from the car park as they'd found him worried and clearly searching for his owner. 

“Ray with his excellent and dependable recall had ignored me, had not even heard me, if I'd been waving a fillet steak it would have made no difference. His whole focus was on his perceived prey and his instinct to bring it down. All dogs are innate hunters of course, but some are far more driven than others and I had just discovered what that meant.”

Kate decided she could not keep Ray on a lead, so she met with Jamie, who introduced her to e-collars.

READ MORE: Jamie Penrith on how to keep dogs to away from livestock

“My advice to other dog owners would be not to make judgements based on ignorance, a lot of dogs are fine but for some that killer instinct is much more deeply ingrained and normal training is insufficient,” Kate added.

“A very important point to note here, one that many people don't realise, is that for e-collar training it is essential that the dog already understands and obeys the usual array of commands taught in the usual way.

“The e-collar is there as an intervention tool to remind them of their learning already established. With proper training for both owner and dog by a recognised and qualified professional, the e-collar allows a high prey dog to lead a happy life running free in appropriate areas.

“I had three sessions with a professional trainer and, from that time on, my Ray has been completely safe with sheep and deer - and sheep and deer are safe with him. He also has no aversion at all to the collar, never bothering about it being put on for walks although - if he sees me coming with his raincoat in my hands - he'll hide!”