How many commands to teach in each training session?

[D TAYLOR]

Hi there,

we've got a nearly six month old Cocker spaniel that has a LOT of energy. She basically doesn't lie down unless we put her in her crate, which she happily goes into when asked. She is very food oriented and knows how to sit, lie down, leave and stay (if she's patient enough!). She is also getting quite good with loose leash walking, although I stopped using treats for that, as she was just bouncing around and not actually walking. 

I feel like I need to refresh the basic commands before starting Pre-school etc., but I was wondering if I should focus on a couple of commands a day or per session, or if it's better to go through all commands she knows in one session every now and again.

I'm thinking of making a plan in my calendar including the instructions for the command, as I'm otherwise not training her much, as I haven't read up on the content and don't have enough to read up and train... I did read the older content on the website on how long each session should be and will just see how she's doing.

Thank you in advance!

 

 

 

[JMFS]

When our in-home behaviorist comes by we go through a few skills each session.  She's here for an hour (training) and then I keep her here another hour (chatting, lol - I'm the worst!).

I find when starting out we get the most success if we do short sessions that concentrate on one skill at a time.  Morning maybe it's sit.  Afternoon perhaps it's stay.  Evening we can do lie down.

Cockers have good noses so to help calm her down a bit you might try the Find It game (maybe called Hide and Seek in the course).  That will hit her brain and nose - two things that are always working, even when the body is tired.  Another thing we like to do after a long session is a Scatter Find It, where the game is less about hiding the treats and more about getting a jackpot reward while working the nose.  We have a good sized concrete slab outside and when we're coming in from outdoors, (this is Especially helpful if there's resistance to coming inside) I'll grab a handful of small treats (we usually break our treats up into something a little larger than crumbs) and toss them along the slab.  Then the dog gets to use their nose to gobble them all up.  Over time it becomes a ritual where they know after a session they're going to have this fun game.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hey, there! Like Jennifer mentioned, it's always best going with shorter sessions making them sweet and fun and then we can always gradually increase based on how he/she does. Keep an eye on how she responds, you want to end the sessions before she gets to the point of starting to feel bored/tired. 

The Hide and seek game can be found here:

and The find it-Treasure hunt game- can be found here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/

If she already knows several cues well, you can mix and match them so that she remains interested and learns to differentiate one from another, and don't forget to polish up, and proof with distance, distractions and duration. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training