A trained dog vs. an obedient dog

After years of refusing to offer a board and train dog training program, and endless inquiries, this year I broke.

We have had several dogs go through our board and train program and it has been awesome to see these dogs transform to great canine companions,whom otherwise would have been risking their current homes.

Let me first briefly explain the difference between Doglando's board and train and other doggy "boot camps." First off, ours is not.

Doglando's board and train program is geared towards teaching dogs how to be companion dogs. I know this seems and sounds simple. And I bet, the first thing we think of regarding training a companion dog, obedience training. We don't.

There are two kinds of dogs. A TRAINED DOG, and an OBEDIENT DOG.

A trained dog is a dog who is trained at a particular skill, sport, or activity and excels at that, and that only. Anyone can have a very well trained dog at Obedience. A very well trained dog in Agility, a very well trained dog at search and rescue, hunting, flyball, frisbee, scent detection etc.

These dogs understand their job, they become obsessed with their performance regarding that job, and they are damn good at performing that job.

An obedient dog is a dog that is temperament trained. This dog can be taken anywhere, put in any situation, and has learned to comply, cope, relax, and can be aroused but easily asked to calm with no back talk!

My dogs are obedient. I can have them off leash any where I go and they are not going to run up to the first dog they see. They will follow me and take the opportunity to investigate their surroundings in a subtle and socially appropriate manner when I stop, then we can proceed and they follow. I can ask them to sit and they will... but they are not trained, meaning the sit is not fast or immediate. I could not put them into competition obedience... that would require training.

So, what makes a better canine companion? It depends. What is your lifestyle, what is the purpose of this dog, and what is this dog's role / job?

So, what makes for an obedient dog? A trained owner!

What makes for a trained dog? A job!

Dog Responsibly