Sit, Stay, Listen! (doglistener.co.uk)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	doglistener.co.uk
Date:	19/04/06 (1111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Informative site for dog training issues, Stan is an excellent "dog behaviourist"

Disadvantages: Ugly, badly laid out, loads of spelling, grammar and capitalisation errors

"DOWN, BOY! Come back here! Sit...stay! Don't pull - walk nicely! Don't widdle THERE!"

Are these common exclamations in your house? Is this because you have a dog?* If so, you may well need some help from a professional. Perhaps you just need advice, or perhaps you need dog or puppy classes, or even one-on-one training (and you'll quickly learn, it's not so much the dog that needs training but its owner). If this describes you, you may turn to or run across the self-styled Dog Listener, aka Stan Rawlinson on his website www.doglistener.co.uk.

Stan describes himself on his website thusly: "professional Behaviourist and Dog Trainer based in Hampton covering Surrey Middlesex and London. Recommended by Vets, Charities, and Rescue Societies." To support what was initially an interest, and is now his living, he set up his website.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now I should admit here, I know Stan, and I know him fairly well. He drinks in my local. Stan IS very good with dogs. Stan KNOWS he's very good with dogs, and should you bring your dog to the pub, the chances are he will try to be very good with your dog, whether you want it trained or not. He is a Yorkshireman by birth and upbringing. His personal theory on life is "Rule 1, Stan is always right. Rule 2, if wrong, see rule number 1." He wears dog whistles around his neck regardless whether there is a dog with him. He dresses in hunting waistcoats and jackets at all times, and has been known to walk in the pub, hang a brace of pheasant on the hooks under the bar, and start snacking on biltong, occasionally dropping treats (of liver, I think) to his dogs.

Having said all that, I like Stan (in discrete doses). I really do. He is knowledgeable, and he really does adore dogs.

(By the way, I was hoping to put this review in the Pets category, however, as it is an internet site, sadly, I wasn't able to. But please, get writing in Pets!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Website - Visiting the Home Page
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few things strike me immediately when visiting the home page. It is beige. It is very busy - if a space can be filled by a link or a picture, it is. And Stan loves his initial capital letters. According to his home page, he "has appeared on Television, Radio and in National Newspapers on many occassions [sic]". Stan is also a creative speller, as can be seen.

The home page has a bunch of dog food related logos at the top, which of course link to the relevant sites (Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved for example). Also at the top is the site's own logo, which links to Stan's "My approach" page, which unsurprisingly describes his approach to dog training (more on this later). He mentions his items for sale near the top.

Down the left hand side are the links to other pages on the site, some of which link to external sites (there are 22 items on this menu, and many have 'sub items' - as I say, busy busy busy). There is a link to a forum.

Below a pretty picture of a dog and man at sunset, there are further links ("Top tips for Dogs" - I didn't know dogs could read a website, "The Origin of the Dog" and so forth) - there are (at of this writing) six of those. Below that, in HUGE letters Stan's address, phone number and contact details. Along the right are yet more links, including information about his up-coming puppy classes, and his blog, which he helpfully defines:
"I have started a Blog which is the new way of getting your message across it stands for Web Log like an online diary. I will be updating it with latest news and comments, certainly worth a look"

I couldn't possibly detail every section of his site - there isn't enough time in the day or space on Dooyoo, but I'll try to give a brief feel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Website - Content
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apart from the external links (local pubs that accept dogs, other dog trainers etc), many of the links lead to articles that Stan has written himself in his own...inimitable style. There are guides to canine communication (or, as Stan would put it, Canine Communication), to 'toileting' your dog, and top tips for looking after and training your dog. His writing style is unpolished (although talking to him you'd think he was up for a Pulitzer - he has bags of confidence in himself and his talents), and as mentioned before, could benefit from a proofreader.

The layout of the sections is again unprofessional and frankly ugly. The website looks amateurish, as do its sections. However, and this is crucial, the advice given is sound. For example, under Canine Communications, he says, "In reality, real canine language is not just verbal; it is a rich visual language, where dogs are able to converse with each other irrespective of breed or nationality. A Collie from Wales can converse with an Akita from Japan and a Poodle living in France with a village dog in Ethiopia." He's right. Watch a professional dog handler (say at Crufts or One Man and His Dog) and you'll see that the actions of the handler, and facial expressions are as important, if not more so, in the communication between man and dog. Watch two dogs meet in a park or pub, and often, neither dog will vocalise, but the mood of the dogs will be immediately apparent from the body language.

He offers sensible, well thought out and kind advice, and the site is a good resource for dog owners. There are links to vets, stores and suppliers, and also links to organisations that rescue and rehome dogs. He also sells his own leads, and the 'jingler' - a bell that attaches to the lead near the collar as a training aid. He says you need the following to use this:

"1 A proper leather or canvas collar, not a thin one, thin rolled collars can bite into the neck; therefore I personally do not recommend them. Never use a check or choke chain this is a barbaric outdated method of lead control and can cause neck and spine injuries. With my method there is never any reason to use one, you will also not need to use a Halti or a Harness.
2. A five foot lead, ...
3. A Dog. "This one is fairly important"
4. The Jingler, attach it to the lead nearest the collar."

Yes, what a wit. But in any case, you can see he holds strong opinions. When we had the Komondorok (a Hungarian breed of large livestock guard), we were encouraged to use a choke chain. I have to say, having seen Stan in action; I suspect he wouldn't have needed one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Website - Stan's Views
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It should be noted that Stan is a hunter (pheasants, mostly) and part of the Countryside Alliance. As such, he is against legislation that would limit or ban hunting, and he is against legislation to ban tail docking and the like. He feels the RSPCA is super left wing and partisan against the countryside. Allow me once again to quote: "The RSCPCA is not quite the apolitical organisation it once was. Its ideals and focus appears to have shifted from a somewhat right to centre wing to the hard left of the political spectrum. It seems that the influence of the animal rights campaigners such as L.A.C.S (league against cruel sport) may have permeated and infiltrated this once august body, to the extent that many millions of charitable donations are being sidelined for political lobbying."

He then details at some length his objects to the Animal Welfare Bill in general, and banning of tail docking specifically. He feels that there will be more tail injuries amongst working dogs as a result of the legislation, and he obviously is quite fervent in his views.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Thoughts - the short version
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I've mentioned, and as should be clear, I know Stan. I know what he's like in 'real life.' His website, to be fair, reflects him very, very well.

====================
The Good
====================
Stan is very knowledgeable, and there is loads of good advice and easy to follow links. His enthusiasm shows through, as does his love for dogs. He knows what he is doing, and really is a fine dog trainer. I've seen him in action with both his own dogs and with other people's. Dogs like him, even if some people find him...eccentric

====================
The Bad
====================
I disagree with some of his views, particularly those concerned with certain aspects of dog welfare (tail docking) and hunting (I'm against). His English is, in places, creative, and the site looks like it was designed by a sixteen year old...in the 1990s.

====================
The Ugly
====================
I find the site ugly and unprofessional looking. It's cluttered, and the photographs have not been optimised for the site, so some are stretched and grainy. The text varies in size, font and colour. Many of the links are 'click here' links, so you have to hunt for them. There are too many menus, and too much clutter.


If you live in South West London, and you're looking for a puppy class, or even one to one training for you and your dog, I would recommend Stan. The site is ugly, but if you're willing to hunt a bit, you probably will find some very useful information. Do I recommend it? Eh. I'll press the Yes button, but only three stars, for the mess that is the English, layout and design.


* (If not, you need another review - or possibly a psychiatrist or even the men in the white coats).

Summary: An ugly, yet useful resource for anyone looking to train or keep dogs.