Dogs are not perfect, they come to us with a few things that could use some readjusting, such as the way they chew the furniture, or use the carpet as a their backyard. They come to us just wanting to make us happy and be a part of our family.

We as a new dog owner need to understand our dog. Each breed has their very own peculiarity that sets them apart from the other breeds, some being positive and some not so positive. If you already have your dog, then you may want to read up on what they are like, are they timid, aggressive, and overly playful? Do they tend to be hyper, are they good around children? This information is also very important to look into if you are thinking about getting a particular dog breed.

When you are ready to start training a dog, you need to realize that the training needs to be geared around the stage your dog is currently in. If you have a puppy, then you are going to focus on potty training and chewing issues. He will be too young to go much further as he is very small and hyper. As he grows into the next stage, then you can start leash training and tackle barking problems, how to behave around people, and so on.

It is important for you to realize that your dog will have some inherent traits as I mentioned earlier, according to his breed. Some dogs are just stubborn, while there are others that are lazy. You may want to research how training a dog with these particular traits will be done.

And most importantly, if you are training a dog yourself, be consistent and loving while being firm and in control. There are plenty of books, DVDs, websites such as this, all to help you in this process...Just like a child, our dog needs to be trained and loved, lets do it right.