When You Need More Than Just Basic Obedience
When most people think of dog training the first thing that comes to mind is basic obedience such teaching a dog sit, down, place, and to come when called. Typically when somebody adopts a new puppy one of the first things they usually do is enroll in a basic obedience group class to teach their dog these basic commands.
However where things start to go wrong is when dog owners aren’t taught how to take these basic commands and use them to solve common behavior issues that may arise.
Often times we get calls from people looking for training to solve common issues such as the dog is jumping on guests, the dog is running out the front door when it’s opened, the dog is begging at the table during dinner, etc. One of the first things we’ll ask is if the dog has been through any type of training in the past and typically we get the response that the owner has gone through basic obedience with the dog but now the dog chooses to listen only when he wants to.
Using Obedience as a Foundation
The first step we take in solving these common behavior issues is
creating rock solid obedience. It’s not good enough if your dog only obeys a command when he feels like it, or only obeys when you bribe him with a piece of hot dog, or only obeys after you’ve repeated the command 15 times. To fix behavior issues you first need a dog who will obey the first time EVEN around distractions.
You won’t have a dog that jumps on guest if you ask him to sit when a person walks in the house and he listens the first time.
You won’t have a dog that runs out the front door when it opens if you tell the dog to go to his ‘place’ and he goes there and stays the first time he’s asked.
You won’t have a dog begging at the dinner table if he lays down in the living room when asked while you eat.
“Just by creating a foundation with rock solid obedience you solve most of the behavior issues that we run across during training.”
Furthermore this solid foundation also paves the way for more complex and serious issues such as aggression and anxiety.
If you need help getting that rock solid obedience with your dog, check out our training programs.