That's the question we hear a lot when we take our spaniel/collie/who-knows for walks around the neighborhood or to yard sales. The answer is good, consistent training.

Being trained is a pleasure for our dog because when she does things right she gets praised and petted like nobody's business.

If you have an obedience instructor who uses the Koehler methods, this is the book you'll want to buy.

Any dog, any age can be trained to be a great pet. By being consistent in our commands and actions, dogs learn quickly what we expect from them. Good instructors can bring any dog to heel in five minutes or less, meaning the dog's head stays right around the handler's left knee. No matter if the pace is fast, slow, or stopped, the dog doesn't surge ahead or lag behind.

If you find yourself in Hawaii on the island of Oahu, check out Progressive Dog Training, where we learned to train dogs. You won't find many courses that are as well balanced as theirs was, but I recommend you try. I've seen too many people with out-of-control dogs, yet claiming they had been through obedience training.