Before anyone jumps on me in the comments, I am not saying that basic obedience is not useful or important – it absolutely is!
However, I see a lot of people focus mostly on getting their dog to sit and down and give a paw when really there are far more important things to focus on first.
In my puppy foundations course, we do not even begin to cover basic obedience until the very end of the course. Instead, I teach clients how to help their dog learn life skills, which make living with that dog far more pleasant.
These life skills include
👉engagement
👉recall
👉loose lead walking
👉settling
👉impulse control
If you have a dog who is difficult to live with and you teach them to sit, you now only have a difficult dog who knows how to sit.
If you want to improve your relationship with your dog or you want to improve a behavioural problem, you need to concentrate time and effort on the skills and commands that will aid you to reach those goals and improve your life together.
While basic obedience can play a role, it is usually not a solution on its own.
