If you want a well behaved and happy dog, dog obedience training is an absolute necessity. In addition to this, as a dog owner, you have a responsibility to others as well as a legal responsibility to ensure that your dog is well controlled. It is important to remember that not everybody loves your dog as much as you do and a wet slobbery dog jumping over somebody is not everybody's idea of fun as they relax in the park! Training your dog has another big benefit apart from producing a well behaved dog in that it can help to build and strengthen your relationship with your dog. Disciplinarian methods are now thankfully a thing of the past. These days dog training is very effective and is all about motivating your dog to behave in the way you want it to by using positive reinforcement techniques. Modern training methods treat the dog as a dog and no longer try to turn the dog into a human, which will never happen in the real world. Therefore, punitive dog training is no longer recommended and is now outdated, so avoid any classes or trainers that use choke chains, tight slip collars or punishment as a means to correct dog’s behaviour, there are much more humane and effective methods. Obedience training is usually provided in a class or one to one setting. Training classes are a very popular option and are a good, fun way of socialising your dog as well as training your dog. However, if you have a particular problem or issue to solve, or classes fail in a particular aspect of training, one to one training with a trainer or behaviourist may be more beneficial. A training class is not the place to attempt to resolve a behavioural problem with a dog. One to One Training gives you enough time to ask and have answered as many questions as you like, where classes usually have time constraints. For general obedience, a training class is a great starting point and can make all the difference. This is no quick fix however and classes only last approximately 45 to 60 minutes a week. Success in training classes therefore relies on you and your dog practicing lots between classes. To assist here, there are some great training books on the market. Thewoofbook.co.uk recommends that you visit a training class before you take your dog. The atmosphere should be fun and relatively calm, with little barking (a common sign of stress). This also gives you the opportunity to assess the size of the group and if there is enough individual attention given to each dog. Ask yourself if the trainer looks genuinely interested in the dogs. Training classes tend to be split into different experience levels e.g. puppy, beginner, intermediate and advanced. Puppy socialisation and training, by default, has to be undertaken in a class setting with other puppies of a similar age. Socialisation is the process of getting puppies used to the things your dog will encounter later in life by giving them the opportunity to mix with people, other dogs and exposing them to different environments and sounds. Puppies will need to have had their first vaccinations and these sessions will prove to be fundamental to the puppies’ maturity and development and lessons learned here last a lifetime. As well as training classes, 'Puppy Parties' are increasingly conducted in local vetinary surgeries and in many cases are free of charge or discounted fo puppies registered with the practice. After Puppy Socialisation, it is time to start teaching your dog some more basic but fundamental aspects of behaviour and obedience. The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme is the largest dog training scheme in the UK and offers Puppy Foundation, Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Puppy Foundation is designed for puppies up to 12 months old and covers the very basics of sit, down, responding to name, walking on a lead and other exercises aimed at giving a puppy a good grounding in obedience. Bronze covers lead work, coming when called and behaving in a controlled manner while Silver and Gold cover more complex activities such as sending your dog to bed, food manners and walking off lead. There are many dog training clubs UK wide that offer the Good Citizen Dog Scheme, just use the Finder at the top of this page to search for a training club near you, most will offer the scheme.


A good starting point is experience: ask how long they have been training dogs and try to obtain references from other satisfied dog owners. A culture of support and encouragement is important too as it's easier to work with a trainer that offers encouragement to you and your dog rather than feel you're being regularly told off. Too many dog trainers have great affinity and relationships with dogs but overlook their owners who play a crucial role in achieving success – after all what is the point in the dog ONLY behaving for the trainer and not for you? Successful trainers train you, the owner, as much as the dog! A distinction has to be made between trainers and behaviourists. Behaviourists tend to work more on a one to one basis and address specific behaviour related issues, which normally occurs post dog training class. It is not uncommon for behaviourists to offer both one to one support and run local classes as well. Another term becoming more prevalent is ‘dog whisperer’. This relates to the behaviourist's ability to understand and communicate with the dog, but does not necessarily result in the ‘dog whisperer’ being any more proficient than a behaviourist. The term ‘dog whisperer’ originates from Cesar Milan, who is a famous TV behaviourist. Other questions to ask a dog trainer or behaviourist would be to see if they are a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT). Whilst this is not a 100% guarantee of quality (and there are many very high quality trainers who are not members) all members of the APDT have been assessed according to a strict code of practice and have agreed to abide by kind and fair principles of training, so this can only be a good thing. This article has discussed obedience training however there are other forms of training available for dog owners which can be lots of fun for both dog and owner. These include: For more information on these areas of training, simply click on the links above.