Dog Training - Important Reasons To Train Your Dog

On the surface, dog training may look like a waste of time.
Why train your dog to learn tricks? What good are they? Your
dog already knows the basics, so why should you do more
than that? Oh, sure, Joe's dog can play dead and roll over. So,
obviously Joe has far too much time on his hands. Why
bother? Well, primarily training beyond the basics has three
very good advantages; socialization, safety, and bonding.

Socializing your dog is simply the act of making him a pleasure
to be around for people and other dogs alike. Who wants to
be around a dog - especially a large one - who jumps on
everyone with whom he comes in contact? If you have a dog
that jumps, you may feel forced to resign him to the backyard
when company visits, which may in turn make an annoying
barker out of him as he feels left out of social gatherings. But
if you treat the problem by training him not to jump, you will
enable him to enjoy the company of others when they come
for a visit. You will be able to do things with him like go to the
park and walk in areas where there are other people and
dogs.

A trained dog is a safer dog. One of a pet owner's biggest
fears is that their beloved animal will one day get away from
during a walk and be hit by a car. Some very basic training can
give you a safety net in just such a situation. For instance,
imagine that your dog runs out the front door one morning
and you lose track of him. When you find him, he is on the
other side of a busy street, and his first impulse may be to
bound happily toward you at first sight. But if he is well-
trained, you can signal for him to sit and wait for you to come
and leash him. Disaster averted.

Aside from those two very practical reasons to train your dog,
however, there is a third benefit that busy people sometimes
overlook. Time spent training your dog is time the two of you
will spend together. If you've ever built a model with your kid
or fixed a computer or baked a cake with a friend, you know
that accomplishing a goal with a loved one can be a valuable
bonding experience. Dogs are not immune to this. If you
spend just a few minutes each day training your dog, it will
give both of you a sense of accomplishment and bring you
closer together.

Certainly, a few nifty party tricks aren't out of the question. Go
ahead - see how far you can take the training once you have
the basics covered. Let your dog show you and everyone else
exactly how smart he is. Remember to use plenty of praise
and reward, as well as having lots of patience.


David Anthony provides research and excellent tips on a number of dog breeds at http://www.onlinedogbreeds.com . You can find a great source and collection of articles on dog behavior, health, and finding the right pet for you and your family.