Setting the Foundation: More than Basic Obedience!

Basic obedience training sets the foundation for all other behavior modification. It’s more involved than just teaching a dog sit, down, stay, come, and heel; it teaches the dog to focus on the owner rather than on the distractions around them. An owner who has ensured their dog is well-versed in basic obedience will be able to keep the dog from fighting with another dog, running away, barking at the neighbors, etc., simply because the dog has learned to listen for and obey his owner’s commands rather than get caught up in an exciting environment or act on instinct alone.

Basic obedience seems like a simple technique to teach on your own, but I was recently able to help a couple who had been trying to train their young dog, Lex, for a few months. Lex is a Labrador retriever, and Labradors tend to be full of energy and easily distracted. Lex’s owners had some success in teaching him to respond to them, but they just couldn’t get him to obey them consistently.

In order to fully trust your pet, and for your pet to fully trust you, consistency is a must.

Lex would listen to his owners well enough within the home, where the environment was calm and quiet, but once they got outside, all of the training flew out the window. I showed Lex’s owners new and effective leash handling techniques, and I also asked them to commit to performing focus exercises with Lex several times a day. After Lex had shown an exceptional level of consistency within the home, and his owners had confidence in their own newfound abilities, we were able to practice these techniques with Lex outside.

I won’t pretend molding an obedient dog is a piece of cake, but after a week or so of walking in busy areas using the techniques I provided, Lex began showing significant improvement. Today, his focus is nearly unwavering, so much so that his owners feel confident enough to let him off the leash once in a while and trust him to return when they call. We set the foundation, and then built upon it!

If you’d like to see this type of improvement in your dog, I can help. Contact me through Raise the Bar Dog Training at 800.649.7297 or by e-mailing me through the contact page.