To keep your dog and you happy, you must be able to communicate in a manner which reaches the dog. Of course, time and familiarity will accomplish some of this. However, if you cannot get past the puppy stage and give up because of either inappropriate or destructive behavior, the understanding stage won't occur.

According to statistics, most dogs are surrendered to the humane societies and rescue organizations because of their behavior. Of the dogs surrendered, very few have obedience training. Most get relegated to the back yard, where they proceed to engage in destructive behavior such as digging, barking, eating bushes, trees and even houses. They never learn that jumping up on people in greeting is what sent them there. They never learn that outdoors is for potty, inside is not. Some don't learn how to play with humans and bite or nip too much. Some become aggressive to other dogs and/or humans. All this can be avoided or alleviated by a few simple obedience lessons.

Let's look at one of the main complaints we hear when people come to our classes: My dog jumps up on me and everyone else when he greets me. This is a relatively simple thing to "fix". A leash and a consistent schedule of reinforcement works wonders. Put your dog on a leash. Drop the leash and stand on it. Tell the dog to sit. Have someone come to the door and act as if they were coming in. When the dog tries to jump up, the leash will stop it. As the dog sits down again, praise and reward quickly. Do this numerous times in a row, until the dog sits without jumping up when he thinks someone is at the door. When this happens consistently, progress to having the person actually enter the house. If the dog attempts to jump up again, have the person leave or turn their back. Reward and praise when the dog sits again. Do this numerous times until the dog has learned to sit calmly when someone enters the house. Once the dog learns that good things happen when he sits and not when he jumps up, both your lives get better. This is a simplified version of the training we provide. It usually only takes a couple of days of training in short, consistent increments to see a change in behavior.

Since I am writing this article, I will put in that it is my opinion that training your dog in 10-15 minute increments several times a day works better than one hour long session. Also, when you finish a training session, put them in a quiet place so they can "think" about the lesson they just finished.

Classes are to give you the foundation you need to do those short training sessions during the week. Class is a good time to ask questions and get the action of the lesson demonstrated. Class is also to socialize your dog and get him used to being around other people and dogs while still giving you most of his attention. That means you have to come to class-you could get a book on obedience and do all the stuff it says, but if your dog won't pay attention to you when you take him out in public, it won't mean a thing.

So, sign up now and get on the road to happy dog ownership.