While searching the Families.com archives for blogs about obedience, I found many articles that mentioned obedience training for pets. To my mind leaped the many ways in which people training and dog training are similar, and if you don’t mind my comparing people to animals, I’ll explain what I mean.
When you are training a dog, you start with a goal in mind. You want the dog to behave himself, to sit and stay and come, and hopefully to stay off the couch. We as people have goals in mind, our greatest one being that of eternal life.
You take the dog to obedience school, or you put him through a school-type experience at home. We as mortals came to this earth life for our schooling, which takes place at home, work, school, church, and other places.
You teach the dog to respond to verbal commands and hand cues. When the dog responds, he is rewarded. When he does not respond, there is no reward. As people, we learn to respond to the voices of our leaders and to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. We are blessed as we are righteous, and we are not blessed if we choose not to obey.
People train dogs for many reasons—for the convenience of the owners, for the safety of the children in the home, and for the safety of the dog himself. We are asked to learn obedience for our own good, as well. We are ultimately happiest when we follow the principles we have been taught, and obedience can save us from spiritual harm as well as physical danger.
Just as a dog responds to his master’s voice or whistle, we should learn to respond to our Master’s voice. Like sheep following the Good Shepherd, as we single out our Master’s voice from the chaos and din all around us, we will be led on safe paths toward eternal life, which is the greatest “treat” there is.
Related Blogs:
Are You Spending More on Your Pets than on Yourself?
How Do You Help Your Dog Make Friends?