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As I have already mentioned most of the bad behaviour you see in dogs, is not entirely their fault.  Most of it is caused by bad owners, who do not bother to even train their dogs past the sit command, nevermind sit, stay, and the rest!

.The truth is that obedience trained dogs are happier, safer and more fun!  A well trained, obedient dog can go anywhere and do anything with you.  You will be able to do more things together, instead of leaving him at home.  You'll feel safer and more confident about him.  Your dog won't wander off and get lost or chase after animals into busy streets.  Obedience training is a way for you to better communicate with your dog and make sure that he is safe, and happy.

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Be Consistent:  in the commands used, and the rules.

Use Short Commands:   that cannot be confused with others.  When training the least words used the better. Remember that the tone is sometimes more important than the words, and should reflect the instruction/or praise being given. 

Make the experience enjoyable for you both:  Do not overdo it to the extent that the dog gets bored.  A bored dog will not try, you will get frustrated and the dog will get bored.  Also try not to do things too soon, you will end up taking two steps forward and three steps back!  Do a little each day, and enjoy it.

Be liberal in praise:  Never hit your dog with your hand or lead.  Dogs have a very short memory and may not understand why you are hitting it, even immediatly after you think it has done something wrong.  The best way to enforce behaviour is positve re-enforcement, and the opposite is true, negative re-enforcment will produce a negative result.

Myths

Myth #1  You only need to obedience train your dog when it behaves badly.
False
Every dog can benefit by obedience training.  It can help keep your dog safer and your home happier.

Myth #2  It is good to smack a dog on the nose or behind when training.
False.
Never, never, never hit your dog.  Hitting only creates fear and mistrust of you.  It also confuses the dog.  Since dogs have very short memories, your dog may not associate your hitting him with his bad behavior even just minutes after.

Myth #3  My dog is too old/young for training.
False
Dogs of any age can be trained or behaviors modified.

Myth #4  Once my dog is trained I don't need to do anything more.
False
Owner training and awareness of behavior is as important as the dog training.  We teach your dog but you must reinforce that training regularly. 

Feeling like you need protection from your dog?  Or, maybe, it's just that your dog has gnawed through your favorite shoes once too many times.  Whatever the problem behavior, bad behaviour can be eliminated
One of the most important behaviors we find in problem dogs is dominant dog syndrome,especially in large males.  If your dog seems to think that it owns the place and you are merely a food producer and door opener, you may have a dominant dog.  See if this sounds familiar: Begs at the table - Hogs the bed - Growls at you - Eats food off table - Hogs favorite chair - Bites you - Scratches doors - Growls when fed   -"Marks" territory -  Bites when fed
If your dog does some or all of these things, you have a dominant dog problem.  Behaviour classes will benefit your dog, and allow you to enjoy your dog too.