How much time for each session?

[coachceg51]

Hello,

 

I have a 7 month old rescue. When I sit down to train my dog, how long should each session last with him? For example, when working on "sit", how many times do I have him do it? How much time per day?

 

Thank you. Love reading the information so far.

 

Bill

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I wished there was a one-size-fits -all answer to this question, but there is not. How long sessions should last and how many reps of each behavior to do tends to vary on an individual basis. Variables to consider are how much training the dog has had in the past, energy levels, attention spans and other factors.

 

For instance, how is your dog's attention span? Is he easily bored? You can generally train your dog as long as your dog gives signs of enjoying it and isn't getting bored or frustrated. Watch for displacement behaviors such as yawning, scratching or licking or getting distracted and walking away to drink water or eliminate as these can be signs things are getting too difficult for him or he's getting bored. Nothing is worse for a dog than a tedious training session that is boring or too difficult.

 

With a dog of 7 months, the attention span is much longer than a much younger puppy, but he's in full swing adolescent stage which can sometimes be a bit challenging. You can read about doggy adolescence here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

 

Since it sounds like he is new to training, you can perhaps start with several (like 4 to 5) 5-minute obedience training sessions spread out throughout the day for now and gauge how it goes. How many sits you can get in this timeframe depends on latency (how quickly your dog sits upon you luring or cueing him to sit) and whether you are doing other activities in the middle.

 

You can then try to increase the time gradually but if the dog shows signs of struggling or feeling bored, by all means it's fine to shorten sessions and reduce their quantity accordingly. And as always, it's best making sure to end the session on a positive note and always when the dog is still interested. This builds a strong desire and eagerness to learn.

 

Consider that things can get boring if you are only doing reps of sits for treats. You can add some variety by adding some recalls into the mix or asking for sits and sometimes rewarding them by tossing the treat on the ground in a game of "chase the treat" rather than hand-feeding it. You can also schedule training sessions that coincide with your pup's energy levels. For instance, most dog wake up with lots of energy or they may get the "zoomies" after finishing a meal. These are good times to take advantage of this energy bursts and train some fun recalls.

 

Then, as the dog gets a bit tired, you can focus more on some stationary exercises such as sit. Once the dog is relaxed more, then you can resume with some more kinetic energy exercises such as polite leash walking. These mixed exercises feature shifts in energy that are more in tune with the dog's activity levels and therefore can help maintain interest.

 

On top of training different behaviors, it's important to also train them with different people and locations. Family members if feasible should be involved and take turns asking for behaviors. While training should start in a quiet room, it should progress to involve various rooms of the house and the yard and then outside the home.

 

Teenager dogs strive on mental stimulation, so on top of training obedience, make sure to introduce several mentally stimulating brain games as outlined in the course to keep him occupied and tire out that brain!

Hope this helps,

Happy training!

Edited October 31, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[thornhills]

I’m glad someone asked this question. I just signed up for the course and while reading all of the exercises, I was sitting here wishing there was a formulated course to follow throught each day. I’m not good at making stuff up. ;)

 

thanks!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello Thornhills,

Welcome to the forums. Glad to hear this info turned out helpful. I wished there was a cut and dried answer for the time to dedicate in each session, but as you see there are several variables and the best answer ultimately comes from the dog: observing how his attention span is, whether he is still enthusiastic and watching for signs of tiring or getting bored and then adjusting those sessions accordingly.

 

Always end those sessions on a positive note (ask the dog something he knows how to do well and reward). The objective is to leave the dog wanting more to maintain motivator value. Happy training!

Best,

Adrienne