Putting your dog through basic obedience is one of the better choices you can make as a dog owner. It provides them with some of the basic skills that they will need to be a welcome part of the family. At the same time, it also creates a bond as the two of you work together to get better at obeying those commands.
For the most part, people teach their dogs how to sit, lie down or stay and they may work on trying to get them to come when they are called. These commands are often used around the home and they certainly can be a convenient option when they are needed. Some dog owners, however, aren’t happy to just keep their dog at home and they want to take them out and about as they explore their local area.
If you are going to be taking your dog out in public, it is very important for them to understand how to mind their manners. Just as you would not want a child to be rude to others when they are out in a public location, you certainly wouldn’t want your dog to act that way as well. Regardless of whether you are at the dog park, walking down the street in town or sitting and having a coffee, having a well behaved and well-mannered dog is always going to be a treat.
The first part of the process is likely something that you have done already. Teaching of the basic obedience commands is going to help them to have a leg up and to understand how to behave themselves to a certain extent. At that point, however, you really need to begin teaching them how to handle strangers and perhaps even other dogs when they are in the area.
If you plan on going out and taking your dog with you, that active itself is one of the best things that you can do to improve their training. You should be ready from the start, however, to give some positive reinforcement when they do things right and if necessary, to correct them mildly if they do something that is not acceptable. Don’t expect them to be perfect when you first take them out but you should expect to see progress very quickly. Most dogs are intelligent enough to understand the difference between right and wrong once they are in certain situations more than one time.
You might also want to consider enrolling the dog in some advanced classes for obedience. There are a wide range of these classes available, with some of them being specific to public manners. In many cases, it provides you with the opportunity to put your dog in some real world situations without actually being out with strangers.
Taking your dog with you wherever you go can be a real treat. When the dog is socialized properly and knows how to mind their manners, you will want to take them with you everywhere you go.
