I deal with all forms of behavioural and obedience problems including, aggression, both interdog and inter human, timidity, barking, fighting, chewing, personality disorders, separation anxiety, biting, nipping, jumping up, toileting, and recall.

I am an acknowledged expert on canine communication, canine and human interface, and the rearing and development stages including the critical periods for puppies and young dogs.

I am also used as an expert witness in cases of criminal prosecution under the Dangerous Dogs Act, 1991. And have an excellent reputation in defending the actions of dogs that find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

I initially trained as a professional musician both orchestral and rock " Oboe and Keyboards" This gave me what is known as relative pitch, which allows me to clearly hear sounds and tones. I found some 8 years ago, that certain sounds aided training in dogs. It can intensify your pets ability to concentrate on what you are training your dog to do, or what behaviour you are altering.

This led me to design and develop the "Jingler" Many trainer and behaviourists as well as thousands of my clients are now starting to use my "Jingler" methods for many problems, including jumping up, pulling on the lead, aggression, both interdog and inter human, predatory chasing and much much more.
Click here for further details.

The beauty of this method, is that unlike devices like the Halti or chest harnesses, which just serve to inhibit actions such as pulling, this devise actually teaches the dog not to pull, and as long as you not near the road you can walk your dog off the lead and he will still stay with you.

I always start my session initially at your own home,  this is where most behavioural and training problems initially occur.

 I cannot understand why trainers or behaviourist's hold clinics in veterinary surgeries or their office.  Dogs act very differently when outside their own environment, which often subdues their natural inclinations, masking the very behaviour I need to observe to treat your dog successfully.

I am intrinsically against residential training. I believe it is open to abuse and I have seen and heard of cases of abuse whilst the dogs are in some of these establishments. The problems with residential training is it does not work at the level that is required to change behavioural problems. Most aberrant behaviour is about owner/dog relationships. Therefore how could a residential course sort these problems out? The picture above right shows me with three of my dogs Edward , Henry and Charlie

We are all aware that most behavioural problems are owner/dog/home/ related, household dynamics plays an important role in shaping your pets needs. It is in the home that the behavioural problems should be initially seen and where treatment should begin Not some remote boot-camp where we cannot see what they are doing to our dogs.

Many of these trainers are ex-military or police and often work on the premise that your dog will do as it is told or else. That is not good enough in today's enlightened times, where positive reinforcement and praise is clearly far more successful and less stressful for our much loved pets..

I still hear the old adage, "no bad dogs only bad owners" which I believe is totally incorrect. I see bad dogs with good owners, and good dogs with bad owners. Having said that, a large percentage of my cases are caused through the inability of the owner to communicate effectively,with their dogs.

I tend to work on a 75 to 25 ratio. Training the humans 75% of the time and the dogs the other 25%
.
I see myself as the bridge which will allow you to communicate and co-exist happily with your pet.
Other than puppy classes, all behavioural and obedience problems are conducted on an individual one to one basis, normally at your own home or in the area they occur, such as the park or road etc. My charges are by the session not the hour. So no need to clock watch. The majority of my cases only require ONE visit.

Basic Obedience

The basic requirements for a happy and contented dog, sit, stay, heel, return, walking to heel etc. This helps your dog know it's place in the pecking order, and the family pack system. It stimulates your dogs mental processes which often helps other behavioural problems, such as frustration, lack of confidence, and the inability to communicate effectively between dog and owner.

This is Kai who is my Rescue German Shepherd. He is one of life's smilers. Kai had five owners in his first 8 months of life.

Puppy Assessment

Preferably as young as possible. This is a full personality assessments at your own home. It includes an appraisal test to indicate your dog's character, dominance, and possible aggression in later life, it also indicates your puppies ability to learn, and points to the methods that work best for your individual puppy, allowing you to tailor your training to your dogs individual temperament, aptitude and ability.
This is extremely important area and should be considered for all new dogs but especially first time dog owners.

The assessment also covers sleeping arrangements, biting and mouthing, jumping up, feeding, toileting, initial training schedules, training expectations crate training and important articles including Critical Periods in a Puppies Psychological Growth an excellent pointer to what you can expect in your pup's first 14 months, and my easy to understand list of the do's and don'ts of dog ownership. Plus The Art of Communication which explains how to communicate effectively with your pet, what commands to give, when to praise and more importantly when not to.

You also get a checklist for socialising your puppy Puppy Socialisation Chart and my articles on first aid for pets and teaching basic obedience. These articles plus the assessment and checklists will give you and your dog a solid and structured format to work with, and will put you well on the road to a happy and harmonious relationship.....

Puppy Classes

For Pups under 18 weeks of age at the start of the 6 week sessions. Puppy socialisation classes are the bedrock for a happy and contented adult dog. It impresses on your puppy that it should not be aggressive and forceful, it helps to teach manners towards other dogs and people. It gets them used to being handled and approached by strangers, and to meet greet and play with other dogs in a controlled manner. Maximum of 8/10 per class.

These are held on Monday and Friday evenings at 6.30 at Twickenham Rugby Club in Hampton. You will need to book in advance as my classes are extremely popular and normally fill up very quickly. If the weather is warm we have the classes outside. click HERE to see next available class plus costs.

Recall
This is often an area I am asked to look at and cure. This often stems from early learning during the crucial period between 7 and 16 weeks ,therefore my puppy assessments cover this. However if you are already experiencing recall problems then I usually conduct these in Bushey Park or a Park of your choice.

Pulling on the Lead
Probably one of the most common problems I am asked to deal with. I have a unique technique that will stop your dog pulling almost immediately without the use of gimmicks like halti's, harnesses, and other aids which does not train your dog not to pull only restricts the dog. My method actually teaches the dog to heel correctly both on and off the lead

These are some of my dogs at present In the picture from left to right is:
Edward (Springer), Tess (Leonberger), ( just staying with us for a while) Kai ( White German Shepherd)
and Charlie.("Jack Russell/Dachshund cross)

Stan Rawlinson Dip MTCBPT. PAACT
Dog Behaviourist and Obedience Trainer, who has owned and worked dogs for over 25 years, starting with gundogs then moving to the behavioural and obedience side of companion dogs. He now has a successful practice covering Greater London, Surrey and Middlesex.

Stan is recommended by numerous Vets, Rescue Centre's, and Charities.
He writes articles and comments on behavioural issues and techniques for dog magazines including
Our Dogs, Dogs Monthly, Shooting Times and Pet Owner Magazine.
He is also Disney's spokesman on communication and behavioural matters in dogs and has been on many TV and Radio programs . He is also the current Chairman of PAACT The Professional Association of Applied Canine Trainers.

This article was written by Stan Rawlinson, a full time Dog Behaviourist and Obedience Trainer.
You can visit his website at www.doglistener.co.uk for more articles and training information. You may freely distribute this article or save to any electronic media as long as it is left intact, including this copyright box.
Please let me know out of courtesy where and when you publish. E.mail will suffice.