I believe it is vitally important that I point out that I have nothing whatsoever to do with Jan Fennel or any other Dog Listener organisations you may have heard of. I am not part of any franchise and I own the Ltd company "Doglistener"

I am the original Doglistener and used that name well before the book "The Dog Listener" was published or even thought of. I would never affiliate or put my name to any individual or organisation that uses rank reduction for every case they deal with. I do not believe the techniques work in many cases and especially over the long term. Only about 10% of behavioural cases I treat are related to pack mentality. The proponents of these schemes believe that 100% of problems are pack orientated. "If only it were that easy"

I believe it takes a minimum of seven years to become reasonably adept at dog behavioural and training techniques. The idea that you can go through a foundation and advanced course in just days rather than years, You are then able to practice as a dog trainer or behaviourist is absolute utter nonsense.

I have written an article called the Alpha Myth which effectively debunks the rank reduction/amichien bonding process. And explains how you can actually get real results over the long term.
The Alpha Myth

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.

Besides being in the Army for 10 years I also 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 9 years ago, that certain sounds aided training in most dogs. It can intensify your pets ability to concentrate on what you are training your dog to do or what behaviour you are altering. Its a bit like taking all the superfluous adverts out of a program you are watching and helps the dog to learn far faster and more confidently.

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 only serve to inhibit actions such as pulling, this device actually teaches the dog not to pull, and as long as you are not near a road you can walk your dog off the lead and he will still stay with you. There is only one aid to walking to heel I would ever recommend other than the Jingler and that is the Canny Collar it is way above any of the others in its manufacture and use.

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. Not pack or Alpha behaviour, but owners reinforcing, (often by accident) bad behaviour or even causing fear, timidity and aggression by rewarding certain actions. Therefore how could a residential course sort these problems out?

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, operant conditioning and praise is far more successful and less stressful for our much loved pets. I am advocate of positive reinforcement. However I also believe that our pets should understand boundaries and what is acceptable. I am certainly not of the mind set like some trainers that do not believe in correcting bad behaviour. Humans as well as dogs need boundaries,guidelines and parameters. They need to know right from wrong, just ignoring the bad behaviour and praising the good is not logical or successful

I still hear the old adage, "no bad dogs only bad owners" Nonsense. 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%.. Guess which is the most difficult animal on earth to train? Let me give you a clue if you were to pick the dog you would be wrong .I see myself as the bridge which will allow you to communicate and co-exist happily with your pet.

Other than puppy classes, all my 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.

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.

Puppy Classes

Pups learn more between 0 and 16 weeks than the remainder of their lives times ten. Training and socialisation at this time will be the most beneficial they ever receive.

Gone are the days when we did not start training until 6 months. It was that belief that got dogs rehomed and euthanised.

Early training and socialisation impresses on your puppy that it should not be aggressive, forceful or a bully, it helps to teach manners towards other dogs and people. It gets them used to being handled and approached by strangers and children, and to meet, greet, and play with other dogs in a controlled manner. I have a maximum of 8/10 per class.

These are held on Monday and Friday evenings at 6.30 at the Sea Scouts Hall Station Road 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.

These are some of my dogs at present In the picture from left to right is: Charlie.("Jack Russell/Dachshund cross "Rescue" )
Edward (Springer), Kai ( White German Shepherd "Rescue")
and Guinness (A working Cocker Spaniel)
Edward and Guinness are both worked at one of the biggest shoots in the UK

Stan Rawlinson MTCBPT. MPAACT
Dog Behaviourist and Obedience Trainer, who has owned and worked dogs for over 30 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 worked for Disney in dog communication and behavioural and training matters 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 above. Please let me know out of courtesy where and when you publish. E.mail will suffice. including the link that is embeded in the www.doglistener.co.uk © Stan Rawlinson Telephone: 0208 979 2019 Mobile Number: 07976 153161 E-mail:enquiries@doglistener.co.uk Stan also covers London Surrey Middlesex Berkshire Kent Sussex Hampshire. But is prepared to travel further if required