When bringing a new dog into your family, there are many things to consider in gauging whether you and the dog will be compatible. Rather than making an emotional decision about the kind of dog that will look good in your life, it is worth taking some time to try and determine in advance which dog will be a good fit for your lifestyle.

There are the obvious considerations: do you have small children in the house?... how large is the dog in relation to the living space you can provide it?... do you go out to work or are you home most of the time?... are you active and able to give the dog plenty of attention and exercise?... are you retired?... sedentary? Besides logistics, you must also make an honest assessment of your personality and be aware that if your temperament clashes with that of the dog, there could be trouble ahead for both of you.

To pick an extreme example, a large, loud, physically imposing ex-football player is unlikely to make a satisfactory bond with an extremely submissive Italian Greyhound. The dog could be too intimidated to do anything but urinate and shake submissively. The big guy would be better off with a dominant male German Shepherd, a dog which will respond to his leadership and will not be intimidated by his physical size. Put yourself in the dog’s position and consider how you appear to him. Are you tall, short, mild-mannered, overly nurturing, loud, assertive, meek? Are you impatient? If so, you should ask yourself if you are really ready for the challenge of training a dog.

Some breeds absorb training at a slower rate and respond only to a patient, empathetic approach. Conversely, an owner who is used to training Rottweilers, which need a more demanding training technique, will be unsuccessful using the same assertive approach with a Belgian Sheepdog… a breed with a more delicate constitution. So do your research first. Make an honest assessment of yourself and then consider which dog will be right for you. There are so many to choose from.

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Finding The Right Dog For You... continued

The Sporting Group: Pointers, setters, spaniels, and retrievers were originally bred to assist the hunter in finding, flushing, and retrieving game… usually birds, either on land or in water. Some breeds in this group, notably the pointers, remain primarily hunting dogs, whereas others like the spaniels and retrievers, have become hugely popular in recent years and more successful as companion dogs and house pets. Sporting dogs have great energy, stamina, and determination. Few would do well in an apartment. Their energy level requires owners to provide them with large amounts of regular exercise and, ideally, they thrive best when they have a job or a sport on which to focus and direct their energy. Their excellent sense of smell can be a distraction to them, and can make obedience training difficult. Hunting is the most natural job for them, so fieldwork in water or land retrieving puts them in their element. These dogs can excel in the sports of agility and flyball and should be owned by active people who enjoy a busy dog. None of these breeds will be easygoing couch potatoes.

The Hound Group: The Hound Group includes both scent hounds and sight hounds. Scent hounds like the Bloodhound and the Beagle track prey by using their sense of smell. They are high-energy dogs and can be super-determined, single minded and driven in pursuit of a scent, which can make obedience-training a challenge.

Sight hounds, such as the Greyhound, Whippet, the Scottish Deerhound, the Russian Borzoi and the Saluki, spot their prey visually and then run it down. They are fleet of foot, slow to learn, and somewhat aloof with strangers. As a side note: sight hounds are more sensitive to anesthesia than other breeds.

The Working Group: Breeds in the Working Group include the mastiff types, the herd guarders, rescue dogs like the St. Bernards, the northern breeds and sled dogs… Huskies, Samoyeds, Rottweilers, Great Pyrenees, and Malamutes are all included here. Most of the working breeds are large, dominant, strong dogs with courage and stamina. Most are very territorial and require a confident owner with great leadership skills.

The Terrier Group: Breeds in the Terrier Group are sturdy, courageous, driven dogs originally bred to hunt rodents and other burrowing mammals. They include Fox Terrier, Schnauzers, Airedales, West Highland, Jack Russell, Kerry Blue and many more. They are very independent and have a high prey drive. Though capable of great obstinacy, terriers can make loving companions and good house pets.

The Toy Group: Dogs in this group include Shih Tzus, Yorkies, Pugs and Poodles, and many were originally larger and heavier than they are today. Toy breeds have been deliberately bred down in size over generations to achieve their present diminutive stature as a convenience to pet owners seeking low maintenance companion dogs and lapdogs. Some are only 4 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh just 2 or 3 pounds. Though delicate, they tend to be long-lived, and are very often spoiled half to death. Many toys are a challenge to housebreak, and can be picky eaters.

The Herding Group: Many people believe that the Herding Group contains the most intelligent breeds. Border Collies, English Shepherds, German Shepherds, Shelties, Collies, Corgis, Australian Shepherds… these mostly medium-size, athletic dogs have served for thousands of years as herders of sheep, cattle, and other domesticated animals. They are often the stars of the dog sports arena, excelling in agility, flyball and obedience trials. They also make admirable house pets and great obedience dogs.

Training For Your Dog Breed

Obedience Training for Your Alaskan Malamute
 
Obedience Training for Your Australian Shepherd
 
Obedience Training for Your Beagle
 
Obedience Training for Your Border Collie
 
Obedience Training for Your Boston Terrier
 
Obedience Training for Your Cairn Terrier
 
Obedience Training for Your Cocker Spaniel
 
Obedience Training for Your Dalmation
 
A Few Good Reasons To Train Your Dog

Do you know how much more satisfying it is to have an obedient, well trained dog, rather than one who ignores you as if you were yesterday's dental floss? It's certainly a lot more fun for you, the owner, but did you know it's also a great pleasure for your dog? The fact is, trained dogs, are happier dogs.

They are less likely to fight with other dogs and they tend to socialize more easily with dogs that they meet.

It is particularly important to have a well-trained dog if you have young children around, not just in your house, but in the neighborhood. Noisy, playful kids are a magnet to a dog, and if he bolts across the street every time the neighbor's kids play catch in the front yard, sooner or later, you'll have a problem. A well-trained dog makes for a happier household.

The time that you spend training your puppy early on will be rewarded a thousandfold as he grows and mellows. Taking the time to train your dog now will strengthen your relationship with him, and begin to create the life long bond which is, after all, the reason we invite our furry, four-footed companions into our lives in the first place. Considering the years ahead of you both, the small commitment of time and effort to get his basic training handled now is the best investment you can make for yourself, the dog, and your family.

There are a few basic commands that are the cornerstones of any training program and necessary for teaching common or garden good manners...

Down: this is where you teach your dog to lay down on command... important for stopping him in his tracks the moment before he jumps onto your sister-in-law's white sofa.

Heel: this is where you teach your dog to walk beside you at the same pace without pulling on the lead. There is no more important command than this as it sets the stage for your whole relationship. The dog's job is to follow your lead.

Learning the No word: this is a biggie as it pertains to establishing in the dog's mind who's in charge (you) and who sets the benchmark for allowable and forbidden behavior (you again).

Sit: the fundamental training command, the first and easiest to teach. Also the one which gets the fastest results and makes it clear to the dog from the outset that you are the alpha of his or her pack, as you control the treats.

Stay: this one takes patience and repetition, and patience and repetition. But when your dog finally has this one down, and it sticks, you know the real training can now begin.
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Obedience Training for Your Doberman
 
Obedience Training for Your English Setter
 
Obedience Training for Your French Bulldog
 
Obedience Training for Your Golden Retriever
 
Obedience Training for Your German Shepherd
 
Obedience Training for Your Greyhound
 
Obedience Training for Your Irish Setter
 
Obedience Training for Your Jack Russell
 
Obedience Training for Your Lhasa Apso
 
Obedience Training for Your Mastiff
 
A Few Good Reasons To Train Your Dog cont.

If you teach your dog nothing more than these basic five commands you will improve his life, and yours, immeasurably. Dogs that are untrained and difficult to be around, get written off as 'too much trouble.' Eventually they'll be ignored or maybe worse, banished to the pound. They can become depressed and despondent, displaying symptoms of anxiety and confusion. When you take the trouble to train your dog you are actually giving him a purpose in life... he lives to please you and that, by itself, is enough for him to thrive.

Let me tell you about some friends of mine who owned a pair of beagles. They found the experience of puppy obedience class too difficult, too tiresome, too embarassing, and consequently stopped going. Needless to say their dogs grew up to be unruly, willful, incessant barkers, who ran away every chance they got.

In an effort to appease the neighbors and integrate these dogs into their life, my friends, to my dismay, had the dogs debarked. Because the beagles were untrustworthy when unsupervised - (they stole every unguarded morsel and chewed everything chewable) - and because they ran amok if company came to the house, they spent most of their time locked up in their crates.
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Obedience Training for Your Old English Sheepdog
 
Obedience Training for Your Pit Bull Terrier
 
Obedience Training for Your Rottweiler
 
Obedience Training for Your Schnauzer
 
Obedience Training for Your Siberian Husky
 
Obedience Training for Your Toy Poodle
 
Obedience Training for Your Wheaten Terrier
 
Obedience Training for Your Yorkshire Terrier
 
A Few Good Reasons To Train Your Dog cont.

The ensuing years of commotion-management rather than genuine enjoyment of their pets took its toll. Both dogs developed hormonal imbalances and degenerative diseases which seriously impacted their later years.

Both died within a year of each other, too soon in my opinion... and while all of this is anecdotal and without any scientific foundation, I can tell you that the stress level present in the house between dogs and owners was always off the charts and remained constant for years on end.

I can't help thinking that my friends' lives would have been so much simpler, and their dogs would have been way more fun, if they they had just tried a little harder and been a bit more tenacious with the training. Don't miss the chance to make a wonderful difference in your dog's life. You both deserve it.