Dogs are not the sole factor of a pet/owner relationship that require training, owner training is just as important to build an obedient dog.

Saturday 15 dogs and their owners received diplomas for completing an eight week course that taught the owners how to successful get their beloved pet to obey commands.

Picayune SPCA president Carla Gerrard said the local SPCA recently began offering the training with the goal of reducing dog surrenders to the shelter. Training sessions are offered on Saturday during the eight weeks and establish communication between the pet and the owner.

“We train the people to train the dog,” Gerrard said.

Gerrard said she plans to expand the training to dogs that are already at the shelter, which will also help reduce the number of pets surrendered back to the shelter.

Course training is being provided by dog trainer Cecilia Charles and includes instruction on how to get dogs to sit, stay, come when called and conduct a figure eight.

County resident Betty Turnage said before she brought her dog Blue to the training she and her husband were having trouble with the dog’s behavior.

“She was really like a wild animal,” Turnage said.

Turnage said her dog was chewing on everything made of wood, including rocking chairs, benches and even fire wood. Since Blue’s training began Turnage said she is more obedient. Charles recalled that when Blue first came to the training Turnage was afraid to even touch Blue. Saturday Turnage could be seen lovingly petting and praising Blue for successfully obeying commands.

Training sessions are offered in two packages, eight weeks of training is available at the SPCA for $25, while four weeks can be purchased for $15. Gerrard said the next course will begin on June 11, and interested pet owners can register by calling her at 601-749-9231.