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Many dog owners think of training a dog as something “extra,” but in fact, there are many benefits of dog obedience training. Owning a dog is a great way to have companionship. That said, there are responsibilities to owning a pet, and fulfilling these responsibilities is important to the health and happiness of your canine pal.
Here are some benefits of dog obedience training:
Safety
Your dog can easily get hurt if it does not listen to you. Say you see your dog with something poisonous in its mouth. “Drop it!” is then a potentially life-saving command you would want it to follow. Another instance would be on a walk when your dog might be tempted to break away from your hold to chase something across a busy street. “Heel” would be vital in that moment. A dog that listens to commands is safer.
Less stress
Obedience training will help your dog be less-stressed. The mental stimulation of training helps a dog achieve calm behavior. There’s also the fact that a well-behaved dog is less likely to do upsetting things in the house or out and about that are just inherently stressful–like destroying or attaching people or things.
Healthy relationship
Obedience training (affiliate link) is the way to establish the master dog relationship. It’s important that the dog knows who’s in charge and obeys daily commands. It allows the dog to learn good behavior vs bad and what you’ll tolerate vs what you won’t. Establishing a relationship in which your dog will listen to you is the basis of a smooth and happy experience with your canine companion.
More freedom
Having a well-behaved pet will allow you to take your dog places that poorly behaved dogs can’t go. You’ve seen such dogs out and about, most likely. Eeven in pets stores and places that welcome pets to shop with you, it’s a nicer experience for all if your dog isn’t running wild, knocking things over etc…????
Obedience training methods
So we’ve established that a dog really benefits from obedience training. But how do we go about doing it?
The simplest way is for you to do it yourself. Simplest in that there’s minimum costs and nothing to schedule etc. There are many books available online as well as helpful tools such as reward treats. It can be a little confusing, but as with most things, there are different ways to be effective and you just need to choose something that suits you.
Another good option is to enlist the help of a professional dog trainer. One option is likely available at your local pet store: group obedience classes. The downside is that there can be a lot of distractions in a store (although that’s also how the real world can be). The upside is these classes are the most affordable option with a professional trainer.
One of the better options is private lessons in your home. This is great because home is where the bulk of your time is spent and where the do’s and don’t’s regarding furniture and off limit areas are relevant daily.
And then of course there’s the board and train option. That’s where you send your dog off for a couple of weeks or more and have somebody else train it. They then send you back a well-trained dog. The board and train option is great if you simply don’t have the time or the desire to do any training. You’ll have a professional who will do the training for you, and if you choose the right trainer you will almost guarantee that your dog will be trained in a specific number of commands. When your dog completes the training the trainer will teach you how to handle the trained dog.
Each choice has pros and cons. Many people do the training themselves and most dogs aim to please. So it can be a fun and rewarding bonding experience. Doing it yourself allows your dog to learn to recognize you as the master and the alpha of the pack. Remember a well-trained dog is something that you will enjoy all of its life and will save you all of the headaches that a poorly trained dog is likely to cause.
Happy training!
