My husband and I have two dogs. They are Labrador Retrieves that are used for bird and water fowl hunting, in addition to being pets. I enjoy being around the dogs because my husband has done such a good job with obedience training. It is so nice to have a dog respond to what ever command you are giving them. Because of the obedience training I feel very comfortable taking both dogs for a walk; because I know that they will listen to me. I do not have to be concerned that they will go into someone’s yard or that they will runaway from me.

My husband starts the obedience training the day he brings a new puppy home. He does this by first teaching them their name. He does not use any physical discipline during the training sessions; instead he uses the tone of his voice.  Labrador’s are very sensitive dogs. There main goal in life is to please the humans that they live with. Due to this sensitive nature they are aware when the tone in your voice changes. By using short stern commands the obedience training can be accomplished quickly. It is important when working with a puppy to keep the training sessions to short lessons and incorporate some fun. We always try to incorporate the obedience training around meal time.

As the puppy gets older the lessons can be increased to longer periods of time.  All the time that you spend with your puppy should be training of some type. This means being very consistent. If you do not want your dog to be around the table when you are eating, then this needs to be the rule all the time. If you do not want your dog to be on the furniture then that needs to be the rule all the time. A dog does not understand exceptions to rules. If rules change the dog becomes confused and does not know what you want. Often with inconsistent training the dog will give up trying to follow direction if you have confused them.

If you want your dog to respond to verbal commands, choose short words or phrases and use them consistently. You do not have to teach more than one word for the behavior that you want. In obedience training the simpler you are able to keep things for you and your dog the happier you both will be in spending time together. If you put in the effort with obedience training you will not have to spend time yelling at your dog for misbehaving. This makes for a more pleasurable time together.