Basic obedience is the fundamental relationship we all need to establish with our animals. Obedience does not mean servitude or disrespect. It is the place where we teach our dogs what our relationship is going to be for a lifetime; it is the place where we set up our language of communication, for all the different places we are going to interact with our dogs. Whether you are planning on competing in field events or ring events, perhaps you’re only planning on hunting or hiking a few times a year, or maybe your dog is your daily companion. All of these partnerships require a clearly established and understood relationship. What does your dog need to do to fit into the system of your life and activities, and how do you communicate that clearly and consistently? Clarity and consistency are the only fair ways to teach anything to anyone, and it certainly works best in a human/dog partnership.

Beginning with some youngsters and working our way, you get to watch how simple it is to teach a dog to respond to you as a way of life. There should be no fear or intimidation ever, and at the same time, you need to speak a language that your dog understands, not the one you’d like to you use because it makes you feel good. Our dogs tell us what works with them, what you need to do so they do take you seriously, and how to make this a real team effort: teacher and student. This course will help you learn how to listen, learn and respond to your dog, not how to program them like they were a dog robot, following orders.

With the simple tools of leash and chain, sit enforcement and simple, clear cues, watch how quickly and easily dogs can learn what you need them to learn and enjoy the challenge of learning new behaviors and most of all, doing this with you as a team.