by Kayla Griffin

Created on: January 27, 2009

Training your dog can be a very stressful time, with a very rewarding outcome. It is however very important to train, and there are many reason why you should. A lot of new pet owners may ask the question "Why is it important to train my dog?"

There are many reasons why it is important to train your dog. These range from things as simple as not pushing through the door, safety when on walks and off leash work. Taking the time to train your dog can make life simpler in more ways then you may initially think. Having a trained dog will become a blessing when you are trying to come in and out of a door, giving them medicine or flea treatments such as advantage, as well as when company is visiting and your dog is behaved and not jumping up. We only need to teach our dog 5 commands to control all of these behaviors and more. These are: sit, down, heel, stay and come. Many owners then teach their dogs other commands for purposes such as to perform tricks. This does not need to be done but most owners once they see the results of the training are so pleased that they want to push themselves and do more.

It is important for people to realize that training takes time, patience, and consistency. All of these things should be considered. When you first get your puppy they will be hyper and running around so full of energy. This is how they appear, but actually your puppy needs to sleep many hours through a day. Dogs need much more sleep then humans, if you watch your dog closely you will notice that once they run around, they will go lay down and sleep. This works except if someone comes in or something different happens in the house. Then your dog starts running around, this can cause your dog to become over tired and cranky. It is important to make sure your dog gets enough rest to ensure they are alert and ready for training.

This is why many trainers recommend crate training your dog. This has many benefits to the training process as well as the security your pet feels. A crate may seem cruel to some people but in the beginning of the training process, when your dog is still a puppy he/she does not know any of the rules. This will become a place your dog can go away from harmful situations, when you have to go out for a few hours and are worried about the damage your dog will create. Over time the crate will become a safe haven for you pet. My dog loves her crate or "bed" as she knows it. I find she goes there when she is tired or when the house is busy and she does not

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