Three Day Schedule

MyDogBitz

MyDogBitz

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Anymore than three days and I'm asking too much out of myself. When school's out for the summer I can train three times a day, if I'm up for it.

This time a year I can get two short sessions in during the week, at most. Weekends are reserved for outdoor excursions and exploring, schedule permitting.

I find that short reminders on the white board keep me motivated and on task.

If you're wondering, a lot of these sessions will take place in my state of the art training facility. AKA my 90YO unfinished concrete basement. LOL!

Outside of these we do an on-leash walk very early in the morning before I leave for work. Then he hangs out with Mom for a few hours in the morning before being put up for the day.

Dog training doesn't have to be long, tedious, hard or fancy. I do all of my training in my basement, driveway and in public spaces. Sessions are short, fun and informal.

Hell, I'll stand in the living room while watching TV and I'll get a few reps of positions in with the pooch because we're just hanging out together anyway. 🤷‍♂️
 
Haha I love this, that “90-year-old concrete basement” line got me. Honestly though, this is the perfect mindset. Consistency always beats perfection. Two focused five-minute sessions will get you further than an hour-long grind once in a while.

I really like the whiteboard reminder idea too, small structure goes a long way when life gets busy.
 
Andre said:
Looks like a good schedule. How'd today's right side heel intro go?
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It was our first time doing it. I lured him into position with food and marked & rewarded on the entry. I didn't name the position, just got him into the habit of moving into the entry on that side.

We haven't worked with food rewards in sometime and it took a few reps to get him back into a proper luring technique. Afterwards he was doing great with it.

I really don't like training with food once a dog has the skills my dog has but his food drive while luring is so intense (I wouldn't let a kid try to lure him with food. They would lose a finger) it would be a waste not to use it IMO.

After a few sessions I'll probably go to leash guidance on a flat collar and name the behavior.

We'll see. I never work on just one thing. We worked on the stand (I've ignored it for too long) and mixed in known obedience with a bunch of release signals and personal play.
 
MyDogBitz said:
View attachment 260
Anymore than three days and I'm asking too much out of myself. When school's out for the summer I can train three times a day, if I'm up for it.

This time a year I can get two short sessions in during the week, at most. Weekends are reserved for outdoor excursions and exploring, schedule permitting.

I find that short reminders on the white board keep me motivated and on task.

If you're wondering, a lot of these sessions will take place in my state of the art training facility. AKA my 90YO unfinished concrete basement. LOL!

Outside of these we do an on-leash walk very early in the morning before I leave for work. Then he hangs out with Mom for a few hours in the morning before being put up for the day.

Dog training doesn't have to be long, tedious, hard or fancy. I do all of my training in my basement, driveway and in public spaces. Sessions are short, fun and informal.

Hell, I'll stand in the living room while watching TV and I'll get a few reps of positions in with the pooch because we're just hanging out together anyway. 🤷‍♂️
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So your day is basically getting right now:
An on leash walk in the morning everyday
2 sessions of the above a week
That’s it?

Only asking because I struggle with doing too much or should I say always thinking I do too little when in reality I’m probably over doing things. So I like to see what others are doing.
 
AdamHA87 said:
So your day is basically getting right now:
An on leash walk in the morning everyday
2 sessions of the above a week
That’s it?

Only asking because I struggle with doing too much or should I say always thinking I do too little when in reality I’m probably over doing things. So I like to see what others are doing.
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Basically that's it. But I'll say this, quality over quantity is important. Here's what I mean, let's say your dog is reactive and the reactivity is getting to the point of being unmanageable then walking your dog is going to be counter productive and hurt more than it will help you.

Also, something I'm learning with my current dog, if the dog has a hard time regulating their arousal, days off are just as important if not more so than the training days are.

My last piece of advice would be this: underestimate the power of classical conditioning at your own peril. I'm really starting to believe it's far more impactful on the dog then what is currently understood.
 
MyDogBitz said:
Basically that's it. But I'll say this, quality over quantity is important. Here's what I mean, let's say your dog is reactive and the reactivity is getting to the point of being unmanageable then walking your dog is going to be counter productive and hurt more than it will help you.

Also, something I'm learning with my current dog, if the dog has a hard time regulating their arousal, days off are just as important if not more so than the training days are.

My last piece of advice would be this: underestimate the power of classical conditioning at your own peril. I'm really starting to believe it's far more impactful on the dog then what is currently understood.
Click to expand...
My guy has an amazing off switch. I really trained him from a young age to be off in the house. It’s a place of calm. Unless I cue him it’s time to work his arousal stays low.

I just always think I should be doing more when in reality he gets off leash field time, scent work and 1-2 training sessions for 5-10 mins a day. But I always think more. Don’t know why I default to thinking more is better.
 
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