Oh, how adorable puppies are! They are so small...so we ask them to jump up. We smile when the pooch barks, races out the door ears flying in the wind or runs to the end of the leash. Little puppies grow-up! Invited, your wonderful grown up dog will leap up and join you on the couch or romp with you in the yard. Unbidden, the same leap of exuberance could knock over Great Uncle Henry. Training can help your dog distinguish between wanted and unwanted behaviors. Dogs with behavior issues, usually caused by humans, are the first ones to be abandoned at animal control facilities or dumped by the side of the road.

A dog trained in basic obedience is a dog who will probably have a lifetime home. Dog training, however, is not a simple thing. When you think about it, how could we think communicating with an entirely different species would be simple...most of us can't even communicate with other humans in a foreign language!

Fortunately, for FOS dogs and for the people who adopt them, Pam Booras of Unleashed Potential, in Ottawa, Illinois, donates her time and expertise to help train Friends Of Strays volunteers and Friends Of Strays dogs in basic obedience using positive reinforcement. Friends Of Strays volunteers then work with Friends Of Strays dogs and their adoptive families to pass on basic information about dog skills like, "sit," "stay," "come," "down," "off," and polite leash manners.

A dog trained to respond to "stay," makes it easier to answer the door, and a dog trained in the "leave it" command, won't be helping himself to a toddler's ice cream cone. Training does more than make canine companions easy to live with...it can actually save a dog's life. The "leave it" command can keep a dog from running into a road to chase a squirrel, or, stop a dog from eating discarded food by a campground trash barrel. Training gives a dog the tools to be a model canine citizen.

Training supports a dog's mental, physical and emotional health. It is an important component in providing a high-quality of life for dogs whether they are at the Shelter or in an adoptive home.