Dogs have a natural drive to work and play. In nature, dogs would spend their days scavenging for morsels of food, taking care of family members, and of course having some fun with one another. But in today's world most dogs don't do many of these things.

They tend to spend their days sleeping in the yard or snuggled on the couch. Unfortunately, this can cause problems when it comes to your dog's obedience level and quality of life. Here are four ways to effectively improve these aspects:

Engage in Duck Training

While retrievers are traditionally chosen for duck training, every dog can benefit from the activity. Obedience is an important aspect of successful duck hunting so it's naturally built into the overall training process. To start, you'll teach your dog a non-retrieve process.

This means that you will spend time teaching them to restrain themselves from chasing the target until you give them the go ahead. This type of obedience training will help your dog improve their overall behavior in their every day lives. For example, you'll find that they listen better when you tell them to stay, come, or sit for any period of time.

There are special duck dog training supplies you can purchase (such as retriever dummies and training collars) to help make the training process easier. With these tools, you never have to use live ducks for training or hunting at all while still gaining all the benefits of the hunting activity.

Join a Local Agility Club

Joining an agility club in your local area is a great way to provide your dog with socialization skills that can be used at home and in public. Proper socialization gives dogs self confidence and makes it easier for them to behave around children and other dogs in public.

In addition to socialization training, agility clubs offer your dog the opportunity to tone their muscles and release pent up energy by running agility courses. What's more is that attending agility classes together will strengthen the bond between you and your furry family member and enrich your overall relationship.

Host a Dog Walking Group

Get together with neighborhood dog owners and create a dog walking group. You can meet up once or twice a week to walk your dogs to a local park or through the neighborhood as a group. This will give both people and dogs an opportunity to socialize, get some exercise, and practice basic leash obedience techniques. Getting to know the neighborhood dogs may even make you feel a little safer within your community. Walking your dog on a regular basis will help minimize destructive behavior at home and promote digestive health too.

Take a Class at a Local Shelter

Another great way to improve your dog's quality of life and their obedience level is to take a class or two at your local shelter. Most shelters offer obedience training opportunities at a low cost so they can reach as many pet owners as possible. In addition to the benefit of exercise and proper socialization, attending regular obedience training classes may also:

• Make it easier to take your dog to public places where excitement levels are elevated.
• Increase your dog's interest in outdoor activities.
• Help your dog lose excess weight.

Dog obedience training classes will give you the tools and practice needed to be successful when you train your dog at home. For example, you'll have the knowledge needed to handle natural dog behavioral issues such as house training.

You should start to see improvements within just a couple weeks of implementing one or more of the ideas highlighted here. Persistence and consistency is the key to long term results.