Dogs & Training

I've had many people ask me down through the years about training and the effects on their dog.  Some guardians feel that training will curb or 'break' their dog's character or personality.  I can assure anyone with those concerns that, that will not happen.  
Pups are furry, floppy bundles of joy but as they get older (like people) their personalities will change anyway and that has more to do with their experiences as they go through life rather than any training they've received.
So why do dogs need training...  well to begin with, the definition of training is teaching a dog (or human) a skill or a behaviour.  These skills or behaviours are what will be beneficial to them as they go through life.  It is our responsibility to show our dogs what is socially acceptable in various situations and what they should not do, much like teaching children right and wrong. 
Training from basic obedience onwards also mentally stimulates the dog and a lot of high drive/active dogs such as collies for example require this type of stimulation.  
Training, if done correctly, nearly always results in a more confident and sociable dog which everybody loves.  
Training also creates a stronger bond between a dog and their guardian and if you've every watched dog sports, e.g. agility, you can see the bond is very evident.  
Training also means that the guardian observes their dog more than normal to see their reactions and that in turn can be very beneficial when a dog is becoming ill, becoming stressed and it helps to stop an unwanted behaviour before it escalates, particulary in reactive dogs.  It also has the added benefit of letting you communicate on a better or higher level with your dog and become more understanding of why they/you do or look at certain occurrences. 
With regard to the humans, training can show us a whole new world in understanding a different species.  It's also greatly beneficial to human physical and mental health.
In short Training is getting the best from your dog and our dog getting the best from you.