When a dog misbehaves it is not because they are bad, it is usually because they are dogs and they are simply acting like the animals they are. They will eat the furniture and everything else that strikes their fancy, jump up on things and people and even bite the hands that feed them. While dog obedience training may not solve every issue of behavior you have with your dog, it is a way of helping the dog understand what your expectations are.

In most cases, the dog will want to please its owner, once it understands just which of you is the boss, and once established will mostly do as directed. However, before the new dog will give itself over to dog obedience training, the social pecking order has to be understood. This by no means hints that harsh steps are needed to make the dog submissive to the owner. Simple commands such as sit, kiss or stay can be taught with an even, stern, not necessarily loud voice, can make the animal understand who is in charge.

By recognizing the dog’s submissive behavior with praise, the animal will become open for additional dog obedience training and additional steps can be taken. Certain breeds, however will only acknowledge one “big dog” in the house and the owner’s spouse or children may be ignored if they attempt to give the animal a command.

The old saying that it is not possible to teach an old dog new tricks is not valid as dogs can and will be open to dog obedience training, provided it is done in the right fashion. Beginning dog obedience training should start as soon as the dog arrives at its new home, regardless of the animal’s age, as it has learned behaviors that you may want it to “unlearn” before it begins to learn new ways of doing things.

Once a relationship and order has been established between you and the dog, it will be ready to start learning expected behaviors from you. Understand, however that some old behaviors may creep back into the animal’s daily routine and you must show the dog through your dog obedience training that you understand he is a creature of habit, but that the actions are unacceptable.

If you have never trained a dog before, it may be good to take you and the animal to a dog obedience class to learn the basics and then continue with dog obedience training at your home. Remember to be consistent with the training or the dog may become confused about what is expected.