One of the main obstacles our students face on their journey to dog training success is finding the time to practice the homework they’reassigned, life is hectic! Between taking the kids to school or going to work, it can feel like the day gets away from you. Before you know it, you’re getting ready to turn in for the night and you haven’t trained your dog at all. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. But it doesn’t take long before tomorrow turns into next week, or your next session with us, and no practice has occurred in the days between. Oops!
As you’ve learned by now, the most important part of a successful dog training plan is consistency and practice. Without these two things we simply won’t see the behavioral changes we’re after. So, how can we mitigate this problem or avoid not practicing in the future?
Work your dog into your normal routine.
Ideally, you should spend at least 20 minutes a day training your dog. Look at your weekly schedule, what do you have going on each day? Are there activities you do without your dog that could be arranged to include them?
Do you walk your dog every day? That’s a built-in training session to work on loose leash walking, play skills, or polite greetings. Are you going to watch the new episode of your favorite show with your college friends? Add a jar of treats to the coffee table and have everyone take turns reinforcing your dog for staying on their bed during restroom breaks, trips to the kitchen, or animated recaps.
We have a lot more minutes in a day than we think we do. Five minutes here and there can add up quickly.
Set aside distraction-free and dedicated dog training time.
Time to revisit your calendar and pen in 10 minutes with Fido! Prepare your training environment (do you have your rewards and treat pouch ready? How about your training collar and lead?) and turn off your phone or use it as a timer.
Spend the next 10 minutes focused solely on practicing homework with your dog. Try to avoid any interruptions or distractions. We advise our students to treat their homework time just like a session with their trainer- you wouldn’t be constantly checking your phone, scrolling on TikTok, nor would you leave halfway through (hopefully). Afterall, your dog will spend more time working with you at home than they do with us, so treat this time like an investment; because it is!
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