What Kind of Dogs Is Obedience Class suitable for?

I often get asked whether an owner’s dog would be suitable for my obedience class. Let’s go through some dog types that an obedience class is excellent for.

Over-Excited Dogs

Does your dog get over-excited when he’s around other dogs or people? Don’t worry, this is very common and some obedience training will help with this problem. The issue is that dogs associate situations and environments with certain things that will happen. So if you take your dog to the dog park to play and socialise with other dogs often, this will cause some excitement -and potentially frustration- related issues because your dog will start to assume that every dog he sees is a potential playmate. But if you make sure that you also train around other dogs and people, without your dog been allowed to socialise, your dog will learn that not every situation around other dogs is a social one. Plus, as a bonus,  you’ll learn some focus and impulse control exercises as well!

Timid Dogs

A dog manners class is also great for timid dogs. They will learn to focus on other things and get positively rewarded for it, making it nice to be around potentially scary things. And most importantly, a dog manners class is a controlled situation, which helps to make your dog feel safe and secure around other dogs and people.

Reactive Dogs

There are many reasons a dog becomes reactive towards other dogs. It might be due over-excitement, frustration, lack of socialisation or bad experiences with other dogs. No matter the reason, your dog needs positive training and desensitisation training. A dog training class offers this opportunity in a safe and controlled manner.

Distracted Dogs

Does your dog stop listening to you outside? There are so many sights, sounds and smells for a dog outside that they might get a bit distracted. This means that you need to focus on your distraction training. And that’s exactly what an obedience class offers! Your dog might be the most obedient dog in the world at home, but it doesn’t really help when you step outside, does it? You simply need distraction training around other dogs and people!