I used to have a dog called Ben whom I loved very much. He came to me when he was six weeks old and I looked after him until he died when he was seventeen years old. He did the usual things when he was a puppy, like jumping up on people, chewing slippers and sneaking food. Dogs were not always pets after all,  and they operate from a collective instinct. Making them fit for human habitation requires obedience dog training.

The younger the dog is, the easier it is to train him. If you don’t feel confident to tackle it yourself, there are professional trainers who’ll do it for you. You will have heard the saying, it’s the owners that need the training and not the dogs. My friends had a very boisterous German Shepherd dog that they couldn’t do anything with. In despair, they handed him over to the Air Force for obedience dog training and he became a member of the squad. There usually isn’t a need for drastic measures like that.

One of the most annoying things is for a dog to bark constantly. This can often happen if the owner is away at work. You’ll get to know about it because the neighbors will complain. It sometimes helps to leave some background noise in the room, from a radio or television. This is company for the dog. If you’re present at the barking, tell him to stop in a firm voice, make a loud noise yourself or snap the leash (not too hard!).

Digging the garden is another instinct that you’ll want to stop. Again, communicate your displeasure with a firm command or loud noise. Puppies urinating in the home is another problem which might require obedience dog training. This tends to happen if the puppy is frightened or over excited, especially if he is reacting when greeting the owner after a long absence. Pay no attention until the dog is calmer, then speak in a reassuring tone and allow him to smell you. Puppies also like to chew. This habit can be overcome with good obedience dog training by being firm, and also providing the puppy with lots of toys he can chew. He will grow bored of your slippers.

If you want to avoid begging, then never feed your dog at the table and make sure that family members and visitors know the rule. Don’t let the dog pester you at meal times and don’t feed him between his set meals except to praise a particular display of good behavior. Obedience dog training is all a case of letting the dog know what is unacceptable and what the limits are.

My husband and I decided to surprise our son with a new puppy for his 10th birthday a few weeks ago. He had been asking for a pet for the longest time, but we didn’t feel that he was ready to handle the responsibility until now. One condition we placed on adopting the puppy was that my son would be completely responsible for the dog’s care. He would have to take his puppy for walks, play with it, feed it, make sure it had access to fresh water, and train it. To help my son carry out his responsibility, we also bought a couple of dog training books for him to read.

After careful consideration, we decided that dog training books would be a better option than obedience classes for a few different reasons. For instance, we wanted our son to develop a strong bond with his new pet and figured that using dog training books instead of obedience classes would allow him to spend more time with the puppy. In addition, our son would get a bigger sense of accomplishment from teaching his puppy basic commands through techniques learned in dog training books. He would be doing everything on his own and could take full credit for the way the animal turned out. And finally, we thought it would be handy to have dog training books around the house for a quick reference should any behavioral problems come up.

There were so many dog training books at the local bookstore that it was pretty overwhelming trying to sort through all the choices. I didn’t really know anything about dogs, so had no idea which trainers or methods were successful and which weren’t. Before making a purchase, it was imperative for me to find out more about how to train dogs in general. So I went online to do as much research as possible in the time I had before my son’s birthday. Once I had some good information to work with, I felt comfortable enough to choose several dog training books that were appropriate both for my son’s age and for the dog’s breed. I also decided to buy a couple of the trainer’s aids recommended in the manuals, including a special leash and collar.

As I said before, it’s been a few weeks since we brought the puppy home. I’m proud to say that my son has been holding up his end of the bargain admirably and is really making progress thanks to the tips and advice in the dog training books. We’re sure that he’ll continue to do exceptionally well in teaching his pet basic commands and more, and we’re looking forward to watching this new friendship blossom!