The reasons why people bring their dogs to obedience classes can vary. Usually the main objective is to socialise their dog with other dogs and people and to train the dog to be a reliable member of their family for life. To have a dog that is gentle and affectionate, walks calmly on a lead, comes when it is called and doesn’t cause a nuisance to neighbours and the world at large has to be a good thing.
Other people have an end in view, they might want to progress to competing with their dogs at obedience shows. Agility has become very popular but any dog must be under control before it can be trained. In a rural area such as ours some people want to train their dog to the gun but a working dog must be well socialised, calm and responsive to his handler. Certain large breeds can progress to carting and water rescue work.
Whatever the motivation behind attending classes the Oundle and District Dog Training Society has been helping to train the dogs from Oundle and the surrounding areas for 59 years and classes are still in demand.