Obedience Dog Training Considerations

Thinking about starting your dog on some obedience training? Dog training is useful and beneficial for all dogs. Opting for dog training doesn’t imply that you think your dog is lazy, stupid, or slow. Those well-behaved and entertaining dogs you hear and read about? They’ve been trained.

Almost all dogs, of any breed and of any age, are capable of learning how to follow directions and perform tasks and tricks, just like humans. However, dogs aren’t able to just naturally “figure it out.” They need you to help them, to teach them, to guide them, and to correct them in order to be ultimately successful in learning, understanding, and applying what you want them to learn.

Before proceeding with dog training, especially in relation to obedience training, you need to understand “pack behavior.” Dogs have families that are called packs, in which there is generally self-appointed or understood leader among several followers. The leader is essentially “in charge” of the pack, responsible for making the rules and for the protection of all the members.

When a dog is a pet in a household, the members of the household become like his “pack.” If you don’t let him know that you’re in charge—the boss, the leader, the master—then your dog will likely think he is or try to become the leader, which means he is more likely to resist your rules and commands.

This is where dog training—obedience training, in particular—comes in handy and is considered to be very beneficial. Teaching your dog rules, tricks, commands, and giving him “jobs” and tasks to do, will help him to understand that you are in charge, and he will be more willing to follow rather than try to lead.

A leader-follower relationship will work best between you and your dog. You can still be best friends with your dog and have your dog be loyal and respectful of you even while teaching him the basics of obedience training. In fact, obedience dog training will help the two of you to bond even more, and help the two of you to understand each other.

Dogs will actually appreciate you giving him specific tasks to do. Most of the time, at least these days, dogs are sitting around with nothing to do, and become bored, lonely, and lack confidence. Obedience dog training will give him something to do and build up his confidence and overall sense of well-being.