“I want my dog to be free”. That is a statement that I hear on a regular basis when I discuss training with people. People have said that my dog looks very serious and obviously lives a very serious and structured life, and probably does not have much freedom.  The reality is quite the contrary. I want my dog to be free as well. FREE from getting hit by cars because he chased a ball into the street, FREE from having animal control called on him because he is a nuisance to the neighbors, FREE from being isolated to the yard because he is tearing up the house, FREE from getting in dog fights because he has bad manners, and FREE from ending up in a shelter because I just cant deal with him. The reality of it is that dogs need structure and boundaries. We also need to learn to communicate with them in a fair and consistent manner so that we both win. Finally we need to give him leadership and security he craves. When this is in place your dog will live a wonderful happy life and have all the freedom he needs. By training our dogs we can give them all this and more. Nothing makes me happier than watching my dogs running across a field off a leash….FREE. On a side note, my serious dog is curled up in my reading chair in my office taking a nap while I type this.  He has it rough!  Happy training.