Dogs are considered to be man's best friend so understandably, getting a dog or puppy is always an exciting experience for every family. However, getting a puppy is one thing, but training him to be an understanding and obedient part of the family, is another. Dog training requires some necessary skills and attitudes to be effective; you will learn most of these as you train your dog. It is always better to opt to train your dog personally, though there is nothing wrong with hiring a professional dog trainer to handle the task. Both have merits and perhaps, disadvantages.

Though, you may be prone to mistakes and inconsistencies along the way, training your dog yourself could be a very effective way of establishing that important communication between you. You also learn how your dog reacts to some situations and what triggers some actions, like barking. On the other hand, employing the services of a professional brings you instant results and takes away the "trial and error" process that is mostly experienced in personally training your dog.

Some people will advise a blend of the two. Training your dog yourself, but joining a professional dog training class. This achieves several ends, you can describe it as 'eating your cake and still keeping it'. The training class reduces the cost of employing direct professional services but still provides you with professional direction for home training of your dog. Thus, it does not deprive you of the 'bonding' and understanding that is established each time you and your dog start that training session.

No matter how you want to go about your dog's training, patience, the environment and rewards/praises are vital factors that will greatly affect the success of your efforts.

Patience, in the sense that you are trying to communicate with an animal that doesn't speak the same language or employ the same communication methods as you do. Whenever you get stuck with training your dog, when you feel your efforts are not yielding any results, remember that you wouldn't fare better if asked to bark. It is going to take time before you can make you dog sit, by just saying the word, that is not his natural language. A lot of repetitions and praising your dog each time he does it right will reap results.

Dogs are naturally excited by their environments and they tend to get easily distracted. Imagine what happens when a cat cruises past the front of your dog during a training session; he is bound to get distracted. Your dog's training session will be much more fruitful if you can have your training sessions in a quiet environment with less distraction. You can progress to noisier environments for more advanced obedience training, when you have your dog well grounded in basic obedience training.

As man's friend, dogs seek to always make their owners happy and satisfied. The training sessions with your dog will be more fruitful if you let your dog know when you are satisfied. Rewarding your dog with cuddles or a treat when he gets it right, shows the dog you are happy with his conduct and reinforces that action in the dog.

Dog training can be quite a challenge, but if you follow the tips here, the task will be much easier.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Dog Training