On New Year’s Eve, 2004 Kathy White of Jackson County Missouri awoke in a smoke filled room, unable to see, and unsure how to escape. Her 6-month old Neapolitan mastiff – Ahbah – led her from house to safety.

One day before, in Cumberland. Md., David DeWitt was sleeping when a fire broke out in his house. Rocky, DeWitt’s 110-pound Rottweiler jumped on him until he woke up. DeWitt credits his dog with saving his life.

All over world, dogs are saving people on a daily basis. There is nothing new about stories of dogs saving human’s lives. Indeed, event is so common that it generally goes unnoticed. The events above all made press within last month – and no doubt most similar stories go unreported. But these stories bring joy to dog lovers all over world. It reinforces unique nature of relationship between man and dogs. Nowhere else in entire animal world is such a clear case of genuine affection and concern demonstrated between members of different species. While people often overlook this unique bond shared between man and dog, dog lovers understand it instinctively.

Ask if you can watch a training session or a video of a session so you get an idea of what your dog will be subjected to.

Don't make a final decision on a dog obedience school until your dog has met trainers. Dogs are extremely good judges of character.

For most part, someone in this line of work is going to be a good person and a dog lover. Some, however, will be doing it just to get a paycheck and may not have your pal's best interest in mind.

If your dog doesn't like them... take another route.

You might want to consider local 4-H club. 4-H is where I learned how to train my own dog as a child. It isn't a dog obedience school in traditional sense. It teaches kids how to train their dogs, or a friend's dog. It's a youth education program and it provides many facets of education, one of which is often dog training.

Read more about dog training videos if you would like an alternative to dog obedience school.