A badly behaved dog is not the fault of a dog! We have all seen owners yelling and screaming at their dogs trying to make them behave, we as responsible dog owners need to learn about training our dogs.

Obedience training is essential for your dog. The question is are you able to provide this yourself or do you need to seek obedience training for your dog?

Many people feel that training your dog is best undertaken by the experts, while still others feel that if the owner is competent, it is best left between them and their dog. In reality a combination of both is probably best and most effective.

Whether you decide to have the obedience training carried out by a professional trainer, or you carry it out yourself, there are a few pointers that you need to remember.

Training needs to be fun, and your dog needs to be rewarded when he behaves well. Your dog has no concept as to why he should be trained, so for him to respond in the correct way, he needs to see this as fun.

The training needs to be consistent. You should not let the dog get up on the sofa one day, and the next tell him off for doing this. Once you have made a rule, stick to it, otherwise your dog will become confused and this will make training harder.

Dogs will appreciate being given obedience training. Dogs can only learn to behave appropriately if we, or the professional trainer we have chosen, teach them how they should be behaving.

If you decide to look for an obedience training instructor, then you will need to be sure you have chosen the best one for your dog. You can do this by asking for referrals, and by visiting the trainer whilst they are doing obedience training. Dogs are super companions, but without correct training you could find yourself with a big problem in the future.