Basic & Advanced Obedience Training
Obedience training is not about creating a robotic dog who follows commands on autopilot. It is about building a shared language between you and your dog that makes everyday life smoother, safer, and more enjoyable for both of you. When your dog reliably responds to a recall command, you can give them more freedom. When they understand "leave it," you can walk past temptations without a wrestling match. When they hold a solid stay, you can open the front door without anxiety.
Our obedience program is structured in two tiers — basic and advanced — that together create a comprehensive skill set covering everything from foundational commands to off-leash reliability in challenging environments. Whether your dog is a six-month-old adolescent who never learned the basics or a three-year-old adopted dog who needs a fresh start, our certified trainers will meet them where they are and build systematically from there.
Basic Obedience: The Essential Commands
These foundational skills form the backbone of a well-mannered dog. We teach each command using positive reinforcement and gradually increase difficulty so your dog can perform reliably in real-world situations, not just in the living room.
Reliable Sit and Down
More than party tricks — sit and down are management tools that prevent jumping on guests, calm your dog before meals, and provide a default behavior when your dog is unsure what to do. We train these with verbal cues, hand signals, and automatic responses in common scenarios like doorbell rings and greeting people on walks.
Solid Stay
A reliable stay means your dog holds position while you answer the door, unload groceries, or tie your shoe on a walk. We build stay using the three D's — duration, distance, and distraction — in a specific order that prevents frustration and ensures lasting reliability. Most dogs can hold a two-minute stay at 15 feet with moderate distractions by the end of basic training.
Recall (Come When Called)
A strong recall is the single most important safety command your dog can learn. We build recall using high-value rewards, recall games, and the premack principle (using real-world rewards like sniffing and playing to reinforce coming back). We train recall in progressively challenging environments so your dog comes running when called, not just when convenient.
Loose-Leash Walking
Pulling on leash is the number one complaint we hear from dog owners, and for good reason — it makes walks miserable for everyone. We teach your dog that staying near you on a loose leash leads to forward movement, sniffing opportunities, and rewards, while pulling leads to a pause. No prong collars, no leash corrections — just clear communication and consistent reinforcement that produces lasting results.
Leave It
From chicken bones on the sidewalk to the cat's food bowl, "leave it" teaches your dog to disengage from temptations on cue. We begin with low-value items and build to high-value distractions, creating a dog who can turn away from anything when you ask. This command has prevented countless emergency vet visits and is one of the most practical skills in any dog's repertoire.
Place Command
The place command teaches your dog to go to a designated spot (a bed, mat, or crate) and remain there until released. This is invaluable during mealtimes, when guests arrive, or when you need your dog to settle during a work call. We teach place as a relaxation exercise, not just a position hold, so your dog genuinely settles and decompresses rather than staring at you waiting for release.
Advanced Obedience: Taking Skills to the Next Level
Advanced obedience is for dogs who have mastered the basics and are ready for more. This tier focuses on building the kind of precision and reliability that allows your dog to navigate complex real-world scenarios with confidence and composure.
Off-Leash Reliability: We systematically transition from on-leash to off-leash work using long lines, controlled environments, and progressive distraction training. Your dog learns that responding to commands off-leash is just as rewarding as on-leash, creating genuine reliability rather than forced compliance.
Distance Commands: Your dog learns to respond to sit, down, stay, and recall from distances of 30 feet or more. This is critical for safety in off-leash environments and requires building your dog's understanding that cues apply regardless of how far away you are.
Distraction Proofing: We take all learned behaviors into high-distraction environments — busy parks, outdoor markets, pet-friendly patios, trails with wildlife. Your dog practices maintaining focus and responding to cues around real-world temptations that would derail untrained dogs.
Formal Heel Work: Beyond loose-leash walking, heel teaches your dog to maintain a precise position at your left side, adjusting their pace to match yours through turns, stops, and speed changes. Heel is useful in crowded environments, passing other dogs, and demonstrating impulse control.
Emergency Recall: A special, separate recall cue reserved for genuine emergencies — your dog bolting toward a road, an off-leash encounter with wildlife, or any situation where instant response is critical. We train this with the highest-value rewards and practice it sparingly to maintain its extraordinary power.
How Our Obedience Program Works
A structured approach that adapts to your dog's starting point and builds toward your specific goals.
Initial Assessment
We evaluate your dog's current skill level, identify their motivators, and discuss your goals. Some dogs can skip ahead to intermediate or advanced work. Others need a solid foundation first. We give you an honest assessment and a clear roadmap.
Skill Building
Each session introduces or refines specific commands using marker-based training. You learn alongside your dog so you can practice effectively at home. We provide detailed homework with video references for every exercise.
Proofing and Generalization
We progressively add duration, distance, and distraction to every skill. Sessions move from your home to the yard to public spaces, ensuring your dog generalizes their training to any environment.
Maintenance Planning
In your final session, we create a maintenance plan that keeps your dog's skills sharp with minimal daily effort. We also identify next steps if you want to pursue advanced work, competition obedience, or Canine Good Citizen certification.
Obedience Training Pricing
All sessions are 60 minutes and include homework materials and between-session email support. We recommend starting with a 6-session package for basic obedience.
Single Session
$95
per session
- 60-minute private session
- Customized homework plan
- Email support between sessions
- Written session summary
6-Session Basic Package
$530
save $40
- Complete basic obedience program
- All foundational commands
- Distraction proofing included
- 30-day follow-up check-in
- Resource library access
10-Session Complete Package
$855
save $95
- Basic + advanced obedience
- Off-leash training included
- Emergency recall training
- 90-day follow-up support
- CGC test preparation
Virtual sessions available at $80/session. Contact us for a personalized recommendation based on your dog's current skills and your training goals.
What Our Obedience Clients Say
Our two-year-old husky had zero recall. I mean absolutely none. He would look right at us and sprint the other direction if he got off leash. Marcus used a long-line approach combined with incredibly high-value rewards and recall games, and within eight sessions, our husky comes running when we call him, even at the off-leash park. I still cannot believe it. Marcus was also honest with us that huskies have high prey drive and that recall near rabbits or squirrels would require ongoing maintenance, which we appreciated. No over-promising, just real results.
Marcus taught our rescue lab mix to walk on a loose leash in just three sessions. After years of being dragged down the street, I had almost given up on walks altogether. The method was so simple — stop when she pulls, reward when the leash is loose — but Marcus showed us the exact timing and consistency that made it actually work. By session six, we were walking past other dogs and squirrels without a single pull. My shoulder thanks you, Marcus. We have since moved into advanced obedience and our lab now holds a stay for three minutes while I walk out of sight.
We needed our Great Dane to have bulletproof obedience because of his size. At 140 pounds, a dog that does not listen is a genuine safety concern. Marcus was unfazed by his size and worked with us for ten sessions covering everything from basic commands to advanced heel work and a rock-solid emergency recall. Our Dane now walks perfectly at heel through crowds at the farmer's market, holds a down-stay at restaurant patios, and comes immediately when called with the emergency cue. The investment in training has made it possible for us to include him in our daily life instead of leaving him home.
Marcus Chen
CPDT-KA, Senior Trainer
About Your Obedience Trainer
Marcus Chen is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed and Global Good Dog's senior obedience specialist. With over eight years of professional training experience and a particular talent for working with large and high-drive breeds, Marcus has helped more than 600 dogs achieve reliable obedience skills that translate from the training field to everyday life.
Marcus holds a degree in animal science from Texas A&M and completed his certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers after accumulating over 500 hours of hands-on training experience. He is known for his methodical approach, his ability to read dogs quickly, and his patience with both dogs and their owners. Marcus believes that obedience training should be enjoyable for the dog, empowering for the owner, and practical for real life — not just impressive in a training facility.
Obedience Training FAQ
Common questions about our basic and advanced obedience programs.
Basic obedience focuses on teaching your dog reliable responses to foundational commands — sit, down, stay, come, loose-leash walking, leave it, and the place command — in low to moderate distraction environments. Advanced obedience builds on these skills by adding off-leash reliability, distance commands from 30 feet or more, distraction proofing in high-traffic public environments, formal heel work, and emergency recall. Most dogs complete basic obedience in 6 sessions and advanced in an additional 4 to 6 sessions.
No. Dogs of any age can learn obedience skills. While puppies may pick up new behaviors slightly faster, adult and senior dogs bring focus and life experience that often makes them excellent students. We have successfully trained dogs from 6 months to 12 years old. The key is adjusting our expectations and methods to your dog's physical abilities and attention span. Senior dogs may need shorter sessions and more rest breaks, but they are absolutely capable of learning new skills and improving existing ones.
Most dogs achieve solid basic obedience in 6 to 8 sessions over a period of 6 to 10 weeks, assuming the owner practices homework exercises between sessions. Advanced obedience typically requires an additional 4 to 6 sessions. The timeline depends on your dog's prior training history, breed characteristics, age, and how consistently you practice at home. Dogs with no previous training generally need more sessions than dogs who have some foundation skills in place.
Yes, off-leash reliability is a core component of our advanced obedience program. We build off-leash skills gradually using long lines, controlled environments, and systematic distraction training. However, we are transparent that not every dog is a candidate for off-leash work in all environments. Dogs with high prey drive, a history of bolting, or certain breed tendencies may be reliable off-leash in some contexts but not others. We will give you an honest assessment of what is realistic for your individual dog.
We strongly encourage owners to attend and participate in every session. The reason is simple: your dog needs to learn to respond to you, not just to a trainer. Our sessions are designed to teach you the skills, timing, and techniques to maintain and build on your dog's training between sessions and for the rest of their life. We coach you through every exercise so you understand what you are doing and why. Dogs trained this way generalize their skills much better than dogs trained by a third party.
It depends on how reliable those behaviors are. Many dogs can perform sit and down in the kitchen when you are holding a treat, but fall apart in the presence of other dogs, squirrels, or new environments. Our basic obedience program focuses heavily on proofing — making known behaviors reliable under progressively challenging conditions. If your dog has a foundation but struggles with distractions, we can often start at an intermediate level and move to advanced obedience more quickly.
Build Reliable Obedience That Lasts
A well-trained dog is a happier dog — and a happier family. Schedule your free consultation and let us design an obedience program tailored to your dog's age, breed, and your specific goals.
Schedule Your Free Consultation