Without obedience training, you may find that your new "man's best friend" is more of an annoyance than a comfort. There are a number of options for dog behavior training. Books and videos can be bought or checked out from your local library, or you can look into classes with specialist trainers or overnight dog academies for your new puppy.

Basic dog training should start as young as possible with a puppy, preferably. Once a pup is out of the nursery box and into the household, a responsible owner should begin to convey what conduct is acceptable and what is not. Certain normal canine behaviors, such as chewing on anything that feels pleasant to those baby teeth may be very abnormal to the human master and seen as destructive. Having appropriate toys and treats can be as much a part of dog behavior training as specific behavior modifications.

Some kinds of training are more specific. For example, a dog can be trained to know when and where it can go to the potty. In order to get good results, the owner must have realistic expectations and understand how canine behavior works. You can't just think that an animal can wait 12 hours to go to the potty because their owner is at work all the time. This is not reasonable or appropriate. The needs of the dog must always be met before you can expect to see the desired expectation. It may help to place a newspaper or "pee pad" in a predictable location to give your pet an emergency "rest stop".

While most dog owners are reasonably comfortable housebreaking their dogs, more complex dog behavior training may require professional assistance. Such training may include teaching the dog to sit and stay, or it may encompass more complex training to help the dog protect the owner's home. There are many videos about dog training available, and online training assistance can also be found.

Some forms of training, such as crate training, may require professional assistance if the dog owner doesn't have any experience with them. Even if a person grew up with dogs in his home, he may not have seen a dog trained to accept the crate when no humans are around. Many owners prefer allowing professionals to perform the training instead of attempting a trial and error process on their own. Remember that crating must suit the dog's needs and is not an excuse to ignore the dog for hours or days on end.

Most importantly, dog behavior training should be realistic. For example, some dog breeds require lots of room to run and exercise and will likely not respond well to training geared towards living in a small area. A professional trainer is a great source of information about the needs and personalities of certain breeds so that the training program can maximize its effectiveness.