Obedience Training for Dogs

When it comes to choosing the right obedience training for dogs, I always recommend following the dog training philosophy of Professional Dog Trainer and Behavioral Specialist, Doggy Dan.  Doggy Dan is the owner of the dog training website, TheOnlineDogTrainer.com, which has been my #1 recommendation for dog and puppy training for more than 7 years.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the basic dog training fundamentals Doggy Dan has used to successfully train thousands of dogs during his career as a professional dog trainer.  I’ll also tell you how you can learn proper dog obedience training techniques directly from Doggy Dan and I’ll be providing you with access to 4 of his dog obedience training videos for free.  But first,

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If you’d like to talk about dog obedience instead of reading, feel free to watch my video:

What is Dog Obedience Training?

Teaching your dog how to obey is more than just teaching basic commands like sit, stay and roll over.  Dog obedience training should focus on understanding how your dog thinks and training them in a way that will create a strong bond between you for the rest of your dog’s life.  Understanding how your dog thinks and creating a relationship with your dog is how you’ll get your dog to obey you every single time.

Dog Obedience Starts with a Relationship

Creating a healthy relationship between you and your dog starts with teaching your dog to trust you.  Once you earn your dog’s trust, they’ll look to you for direction in every situation, and they’ll follow your lead and obey your commands.  Most dog behavior issues (or all?) start because the dog doesn’t know who is in charge.  They’re unclear about who should make the decisions…you?  or them?  Most dogs are followers, not leaders, so most dogs will get quite stressed out if they think they have to make the decisions.

So, the best way to earn your dog’s trust and get them to obey you is for you to show your dog that you’re the decision maker.  In a dog’s world, that’s a pack leader.  Doggy Dan’s entire dog training philosophy focuses on this concept.  Once your dog sees you as the pack leader, he’ll gladly follow you, and he’ll be happy and relieved to do so.  To learn more directly from Doggy Dan, read his blog post called, Stop Disciplining and Start Connecting: How to Improve Dog Obedience.

Use Kind and Gentle Dog Training

Sadly, some dog owners have resorted to harsh punishment or cruel and dangerous dog training devices like dog shock collars to get their dog to obey.  The only thing these techniques accomplish is to teach your dog to fear you, and usually result in even more unwanted behaviors.  Your dog may start showing aggression because they’re afraid of you and other people.  They may develop anxiety, which leads to behavior issues such as barking, chewing, pacing, etc.) And seriously, it’ll likely result in you never being able to train your dog to listen. Dog obedience training that is centered around fear will not bring long-term success.  Rather, being a kind and gentle leader for your dog is a better way to train your dog, because it utilizes your dog’s natural instinct to follow the pack leader.

Why Won’t My Dog Listen to Me?

If your dog is ignoring you, challenging you, or if they’re showing possessiveness, they probably think they’re in charge.  If they think they’re the boss, they’ll do whatever they want.  What’s actually sad about this is that most dogs don’t want to be in charge.  They’re doing it because they feel they have to.

Taking steps to step up as pack leader to your dog will not only result in their listening to you every single time, but it’s actually the most kind and loving thing you can do for your dog.  Once you relieve your dog from feeling like they have to be the one in charge, they can relax and just enjoy being a member of the family.   They’ll be happy, calm and relaxed.

How to Have an Obedient Dog

Winning your dog’s mind is the best way to have an obedient dog.  Using kind and gentle training methods and stepping up as pack leader for your dog will result in your dog CHOOSING to obey you.

If you want an obedient dog who listens to you because they trust you and look up to you, I encourage you to take a look at Doggy Dan’s Dog Calming Code program.  This program provides step-by-step techniques to achieve dog obedience via positive and kind training techniques. The program focuses on building a relationship with your dog in a kind and gentle way and showing your dog that you are the pack leader, leading the way for success in all of your dog training efforts.

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