It is without a doubt one of the most difficult things to do with your pet: Communication. Your dog wants very much to love and understand you. However, many of the things you do confuse him just as much as some of the things he does confuses you. Your dog tries very hard to associate your verbal tones and gestures to respond and get affection from you. But it can be very confusing to see you wave your arms saying "up . . up" to use a similar gesture to say "bad boy!" He does not speak english, he merely tries to mimick actions to gestures that get him a pleasing response.

There are many individuals who have the patience and time to train there dog. For these folks, their pets and themselves have a fun and happy relationship primarily because of the mutual understanding and communication between the two. For the rest of us with full time jobs, kids, soccer practice, PTA, late nights at the office, etc. it’s very hard to have that time and patience.

Formal dog training allows for the stress of training to be eased for both you and your dog. By teaching both you and your dog the same commands and the intended responses you lesson the miscommunication. Your dog is happier because of the opportunity to please you and you are happy to have that healthy happy dog. With all of the options today, there is no reason to have that unnecessary stress caused by the misunderstandings between you and your dog.

Just remember, your pet wants very much to please you and recieve that scratch behind the ear. Patience is your ultimate tool in training but to ease the stress and overall caos of training, use the resources available to you.

"Sit, stay . . . GOOD BOY!"