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Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Finding The Right Approach To Dog Obedience Training

By Anton Hout, author of The Guide to Aussie Training & Care

Dog obedience training can make the difference between having a happy, well-adjusted dog and a complete nightmare. It may seem like an insurmountable challenge but training your dog is actually much easier than you think. It's just a matter of establishing the right relationship and ensuring that your dog listens to you. If you can manage that, the rest of the process is a breeze.

Recommended Dog and Puppy Training Videos

Of course, getting your dog to listen to you may seem impossible, particularly if you're dealing with an energetic breed like the Australian Shepherd, but it doesn't have to be. Believe it or not, most dogs actually want to listen and love to learn and that's especially true for Aussies. The key is making sure you start them off as puppies and use the right approach to get them to obey your commands.

With this in mind, dog obedience training can help you to curtail all sorts of problems, including not coming when you call them, jumping up on visitors, having "accidents" in the house, or displaying aggressive behavior. All of this and more can be corrected or avoided entirely if you start training early enough and are careful about following through with it.

Two Australian Shepherds looking to their owner.

Christian Müller / stock.adobe.com

Dog and puppy obedience training doesn't have to be so hard. You might be shocked at how easy it can be once you understand how dogs see the world differently than humans do.

Unfortunately, what happens with many dog owners is that they haven't built a foundation for their training and established themselves in the role of respected leader. As a result all kinds of behavior problems start to crop up. It's a mistake to try to address these behavior issues piecemeal without addressing the underlying problem.

It's like going to your doctor and them telling you that you have high cholesterol and putting you on a statin drug. Then you are informed about your high blood pressure and you get a pill for that. Now you are insulin resistant and the solution is for you to inject yourself with insulin for the rest of your life. None of these are solutions. They are just attacking the symptoms and nothing will change unless the root cause responsible for all of these symptoms is dealt with.

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In the case of the metabolic syndrome symptoms above, improving lifestyle and food choices goes a long way to eliminating all of the symptoms at once. It's the same with dog obedience training. Dealing with the symptoms of your dog not coming when called, barking at everything, pulling on the leash, or being aggressive will have poor results until you get at the one problem which gives rise to all of these (and more) behavior problems. In a word, it's leadership.

Understanding How Your Dog Thinks Makes Obedience Training Much Easier

While dogs and humans have much in common they also have many differences in how they see the world. Why does a dog listen to you or ignore you? Why does your dog look to you as a respected leader rather than someone who should listen to them? Many dog owners don't even realize the myriad ways that their dogs exercise control over them.

This is especially true of smart and energetic breeds like the Aussie. Without realizing it owners have slowly been ceding leadership to their dog since they were a puppy. Often serious behavior problems including embarrassing public displays and dangerous levels of aggression arise.

This generally reaches a critical mass when the dog reaches adolescence and they assert themselves as the leader and expecting their owners to fall in line. Then the owner is faced with a power struggle in their own home! So, how can you wrest power back from your dog and get your dog obedience training back on track?

There are many training techniques that claim to be the most effective but the truth is that many of them just don't work. Using force or fear is never a healthy way to teach wanted behaviors and even using clickers or food bribes isn't always ideal. Fortunately, there is another approach that you can take which has had proven results time and again, resulting in thousands of well behaved and contented pups.

Recommended Approach To Dog Obedience Training

Doggy Dan, The Online Dog Trainer with his puppy Moses.

Daniel Abdelnoor (Doggy Dan)
is a world-class dog trainer and animal welfare advocate who lives with his wife and children in New Zealand.

This method, which I highly recommend, comes from Daniel Abdelnoor, known as "Doggy Dan", an experienced professional dog trainer and animal rights advocate based in Auckland, New Zealand. No matter where in the world you're based, you can learn from Doggy Dan through his website, TheOnlineDogTrainer.com, where he provides tools and tips for dog obedience training that can work for dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds.

The secret to Dan's success is in showing you how to establish a bond with your pup so that he trusts you and ultimately makes the choice to listen to you. With his exclusive training methods you can get your dog to listen and come every time you call, stop barking at people, animals or objects, stop exhibiting aggressive behavior, and learn to walk calmly on a leash—as well as many other behavior and training issues. Why? Because at the core of Dan's program are five exercises also known as "The 5 Golden Rules" which establish you as the respected leader which allows your dog to calm down and happily assume the role of loyal follower.

This is dog obedience training that can be applied at any age, from puppies as young as 8 weeks old to older pups and even adult dogs. It's easy to do and with unlimited access to Dan's website, you can learn and apply these training techniques in the comfort of your own home. It's quick and easy and best of all, it's been proven to work time and again.

There is no reason why you should have to tolerate unacceptable behavior. You can work with your dog to help him be calmer, happier, and more balanced. That will allow both of you to enjoy an even closer bond and have a great relationship that lasts through his whole life. If you're looking for an easy and convenient way to teach your dog obedience, you should check out TheOnlineDogTrainer.com and see what Doggy Dan can do for you and your best friend.

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Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

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