Bringing a dog into your life can bring you and/or your family great joy. However, along with your dog's basic care needs obedience training is an important aspect in ensuring an enjoyable relationship with a responsive dog.
Starting at a young age, as soon as your puppy has received his full set of immunizations, start by taking him to a puppy kindergarten class, where your puppy will be exposed to an environment outside of the home with strange dogs and people he does not know. Here he will learn basic socialization skills, and an introduction to basic obedience lessons such as sit, stay, come, etc. As the owner you will be taught the correct ways to communicate with your dog, ways in which he will understand. At home these skills learned in class carry over and your trips to the dog park, around the neighborhood, etc. become enjoyable outings as your puppy learns to behave in any environment.
Obedience training is a necessity also in ensuring the safety and happiness of your dog, as a dog with no training and no job or direction will become bored, which subsequently leads to annoying misbehaviors such as barking, chewing, and digging.
Once your dog has completed puppy kindergarten and knows basic commands, you may want to challenge yourself and your dog by furthering your obedience training. In more advanced obedience classes your dog learns to work off lead, and then is ready to learn scent discrimination, hurdles, and specialty exercises that are requested of competition dogs.
The AKC offers a S.T.A.R. (Socialization, Training, Activity, Responsibility) puppy program, where after completing a class and passing a test your puppy can qualify to enroll as an AKC S.T.A.R. puppy. For adult dogs the AKC offers the Canine Good Citizen certificate which proves that your dog is a responsible and trustworthy companion. Many home insurance companies and landlords require dogs to have acquired this certificate.
For those who wish to pursue obedience training beyond the scope of just the pleasure and enjoyment of owning a well-trained dog, the AKC offers competitions where you can compete and earn titles for your dog, which is a truly rewarding experience.
Another benefit obtained through obedience training, this opens the door to becoming involved in many performance events, including agility, rally, tracking, flyball, herding, dock diving, hunting. These activities are great fun and exercise for both you and your dog, and something the whole family can get involved in.
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