Professional Dog Trainers or Dog Obedience Training Schools Locations Locator Map and Directory

Professional dog trainers may work independently or for a dog obedience training school. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A dog obedience school is an institution that trains dogs how to behave properly. When puppies are young and in the first stages of training, they are often taken by their owners to dog obedience training schools. Most obedience schools are located in the United States. Training usually takes place in small groups. In addition to training pets themselves, obedience schools also teach pet owners how to train, praise, and scold their pets. The specific behaviors taught in each case are different, but the underlying principles are similar.

Basic Dog Obedience Training

Most dogs, no matter their eventual advanced training or intended purpose, live with people who want them to behave in ways that make them pleasant to be around, keep them safe, and provides for the safety of other people and pets. Dogs do not figure out basic obedience on their own; they must be trained.

The hardest part of training is communicating with the dog in a humane way that the dog understands. However, the underlying principle of all communication is simple: reward desired behavior while ignoring or correcting undesired behavior.

Basic dog obedience training usually consists of six behaviors:

* Sit

* Down

* Stay

* Recall ("come", "here" or "in")

* Close (or loose-leash walking)

* Heel

"Corrections" should never include harmful physical force or violence. Using force while training is controversial and should not be taken lightly, because even if it ends the behavior, when applied inappropriately with some dogs it may lead to a loss of drive (enthusiasm for the given task), stress, and in some cases even aggression. A handler may decide to use force, however the standard used by most dog trainers is the minimum amount necessary to inhibit the unwanted behavior.

As pack animals, wild dogs have natural instincts that favor cooperation with their fellow dogs. These instincts have been refined and exaggerated through years of selective breeding by humans, and are manifested in the domestic dogs adeptness at correctly interpreting and responding to signals given by a human handler. The handler is simply whoever is working with a dog at the time.