Dogs make excellent pets for various reasons - they tend to be friendly, loyal, and obedient, but sometimes they require extra training in order to get along well with family, guests, and other dogs. Obedience training for dogs marks an important part of raising and training any dog and certain dogs that have had abusive relationships or that have been in severe fights with other animals may require extra conditioning. In this article, we'll take a look at some methods for obedience training your dog, and the different approaches to the types of training that may be necessary.

Many obedience problems are simply inherent in dogs' nature, and will require a little bit of persistence and patience on the part of the owner. Obedience training for dogs deals mostly with behavioral problems such as chewing, biting during play, and doing their business where they aren't supposed to. Most of these problems can be dealt with through what is called negative reinforcement, which means scolding the animal whenever you catch them doing that which they shouldn't be. For example, say you catch your puppy chewing on your favorite pair of shoes. Keeping your cool, giving the dog a brief scolding, and putting him outside will likely teach him that what he was doing at the time of the scolding was wrong. However, scolding your dog after the fact is likely to have little effect and simply confuse the animal.

Obedience training for dogs also frequently deals with dogs that have been abused by a past owner or have been in fights with other dogs. These dogs tend to have trust issues with either people or dogs, and sometimes both, and will require a totally different type of training than what owners normally do. These dogs should be kept in a peaceful and calm environment with only one or two people, and should be treated very gently and tenderly until they become used to people again. They can be overly shy or aggressive with strangers, and should be carefully watched when new people or dogs are introduced to them.

All of these problems can be overcome with time and effort, and while it may require some persistence on your part, the end result will be well worth the effort. Obedience training for dogs takes many forms, and it is ultimately up to you to judge which type is most suited to your dog's behavior.