Whenever I attend a dog show, I watch with fascination the performances in the advanced obedience ring, where dogs do all sorts of complicated maneuvers guided only by their owners' hand signals. In the past, however this kind of performance always seemed to me to be a useless frill not meant for ordinary pets —until the following incident changed my mind. One bleak day I was walking through a remote rural area with a friend and his dogs. Since traffic was usually non-existent here, we crossed the road carelessly, not noticing that one old dog was lagging behind. A rumbling sound made us turn to see a huge truck heading straight into the dog's path. Without saying a word— which the dog wouldn't have heard anyway since he was too far away—my friend raised his hand, giving the "down" signal. The dog fell flat at the side of the road and stayed there until another signal was given for him to come. This was one of the most convincing arguments for obedience training I have ever seen.

A few days later I was describing this incident to another friend, the owner of several rather obnoxious toy dogs, hoping she would get the hint. "Well, obedience training is fine for some people," she said. "But my dogs never leave the house so they are in no danger of being run over." Politeness kept me from telling her that her yappy darlings, who jump all over guests and never pay the slightest attention to her scolding, would also benefit enormously from obedience training. For the fact is that unless you want to relegate your dog to life in the backyard or the basement, some sort of obedience training is essential. A dog is not a wolf in the wild but a member of civilized society which has its rules, regulations and pitfalls. Like a child, a dog has to be taught to be a respectable and decent citizen. And unless you already have some training experience, the best way to provide him with an education is to attend an obedience school.

Surprisingly, only four basic exercises are taught at obedience classes: heeling, i.e. walking close to the owner's side; sitting and lying down on command; staying; coming when called. Yet a dog who has mastered these simple exercises will be able to handle most everyday situations: he can walk with you through crowds, for instance, or wait for you outside a store while you shop. Of course, as training progresses, the exercises become more complex and difficult. At an advanced level, a dog will be expected to heel off leash, to respond to hand signals instead of verbal ones, and to stay down as long as ten minutes with his owner out of sight. Instead of coming straight to you when called, a dog may leap over a high jump or a broad jump or bring back an object you have dropped.

Some people even get bitten by the obedience bug and start to enter their dogs in obedience trials. Here dogs compete for AKC obedience titles.

Unfortunately, some dog owners continue to have strange misconceptions about obedience training. These are some of the most common objections or excuses :

1) "There are no obedience classes in the (countryside) (small town) (city) where I live." Actually, there are very few places where classes cannot be held. In rural areas, 4-H clubs often hold courses. Many towns have kennel clubs which sponsor classes or know where they are held. A city dweller is confronted with many choices: park districts, YMCAs, private clubs—all offer training classes. The dog want ad sections of many Sunday newspapers carry advertisements of schools in your area. If there are several classes held in your area, visit each of them to decide which one you prefer.
2) "I don't have the a) time, b) money for obedience training." An introductory course lasts eight weeks and requires 15-20 minutes of practice a day. The average cost of such a course is $25-30—a trifling amount compared to veterinarian bills (or uneral expenses) if your dog gets into an accident because he doesn't listen to you.
3) "My dog is a (terrier) (hound) (mutt) (male) (female) (too young) (old—i.e. can't learn new tricks) and everyone knows that kind of dog is impossible to train." Look at a list of entries in an obedience trial and you will find every sort of dog imaginable. Owners have put CD's on every single one of the AKC's 120-odd breeds and on dogs as young as 6 months (the minimum age) and as old as 9 years. Of course, some breeds are harder to train than others as are certain individuals within each breed. But no dog is so stubborn or unmanageable that he cannot master at least the basic exercises.
4)"Obedience training breaks a dog's spirit and makes him neurotic." No reputable obedience teacher will encourage violence or cruelty. The essence of good training is kindness and firmness: the dog must know what is expected of him and do it at once, but he must also be lavishly praised when he performs well. The top obedience handlers are not the people who are meanest to their dogs but those who are willing to make utter fools of themselves by praising and fussing over their dogs when they obey. An obedience-trained dog is a happy, well-rounded dog because he can accompany his owner everywhere and is open to new experiences. - Coleen Sen