Because dogs live so closely with people, it's important that these communication skills be used and learned. This is important for the safety and enjoyment of both your family and your dog. Basic obedience skills go a long way toward this goal. Basic obedience skills include:

• Sit
• Down
• Stay
• Place
• Recall (“here” or “come”)
• Heel
• Walking politely on a loose leash

These skills have benefits beyond the obvious. First, we believe that an obedient dog is a polite dog. We encourage our human family members to exhibit good manners, and we should expect the same from our canine family members. Among other things, a polite dog will sit quietly when guests enter your home, won’t jump on guests, won’t beg at the dinner table, will not rush through exterior doorways and will instead wait for your permission, and will walk on a leash without pulling. We teach your dog to listen to commands given in a normal speaking voice.

Obedience skills also have safety benefits. For example, if your dog runs in the road and a car is coming, good recall skills may enable you to call your dog back to your side before he has a bad accident. Or if an emergency happens, good stay skills may allow you to place your dog in a down stay while you tend to the situation.

Dogs don't learn obedience on their own. You have to help them. Unfortunately, most people don't have the skills or time to help their dog as much as they'd like. That's where we come in. We offer training for puppies and adults. Since puppies are still developing, we offer training limited to house manners, crate training, and beginning obedience. Proper puppy training helps provide a strong foundation for your dog and prevent future behavioral problems. Once a dog reaches adulthood, our training package includes all of the skills listed above (sit, down, stay, place, recall, heel, leash walking) as well as additional needs you may have. More advanced training is available on a case-by-case basis, but most pet owners are very satisfied once basic training is completed and never feel a need for additional training.

Dogs and humans have lived together for at least 10,000 years, and possibly more. Even with that long history, most people don't have an innate ability to communicate as well as they can with their dogs. It's a learned skill, one that we have been studying for decades and one that we want to share with you and your dog.