Your Training Routines

[MishB]

Im interested to find out what kind of routine you have for training your dog/s.This is mainly for the people who are bringing up new dogs, or currently competing.

Do you do any training before you feed breakfast if you are giving them breaky?

Do you do a session at the park? on a walk?

do you do training on a regular basis eg once daily? more than once daily? a few times a week?

Do you work on one or two things only during a session, or more? do you keep working on the same behavior until you are happy with the standard you are getting eg repeat the same exercise for a few sessions in a row to perfect it, or move on to something different?

How long on average does a session last?

How do you keep track of what you are teaching? Does anyone keep an actual diary of what they do, do you have a mental plan? how far in advance have you thought your plans out?

What goals do you have in mind when training? Are they super specific like getting the perfect retrieve/ flip finish or whatever? Or a broader goal?

How old is the dog you are training & the level they are at?

Im curious about how differently everyone trains or doesnt train.

Edited May 2, 2012 by MishB

[sheena]

I am lucky we live on acreage & have a wonderful, supportive OH who has built me an entire Agility Course. We have two BC dogs, Bindi (4YO) has been competing for two years now & Cricket, who is only 14 months & is in training.

We train every day for about 5 minutes each dog, before they have their breakfast, which is always a RMB. I also train them while walking them to & from the agility course. ie; heeling, recall, sits, drops etc. They really enjoy this & their obsession with it sometimes gets a bit awkward when both dogs want to "heel" etc @ the same time. :laugh:

We also take them to group classes once a week when it's not washed out from the constant rain. We usually work on just a couple of things a session...maybe a couple of minutes on one thing then go onto another. We don't keep at it till they have perfected the behaviour. They have good memories & don't forget what they learnt the day before. I keep track of training in my head & sometimes OH videos it for me. We have goals, as in, want as perfect as possible end behaviour but try not to be too impatient. I might also do some clicker stuff with them during the day & when I take them for a walk in the afternoons, we do more heeling, recalls etc. But the Agility training is only once a day. After dinner at night they come inside & I might do a bit more clicker stuff with them in the lounge room, but mostly it's a time for them to find "their inner naughtiness" & entertain us, or have cuddles, before going to their beds. Have I covered everything :D

ETA...At the end of our training sessions both OH & myself will do things with both dogs at the same time, so they learn to work with us & not run off to play. Does that make sense

Edited May 2, 2012 by sheena

[Kavik]

I have 3 dogs Zoe 12 1/2, Diesel 8, Kaos 6. Currently competing with Kaos in agility.

At the moment I do 2 training sessions during the day, and a walk in the evening with a training session at the park when we get there - the walk is rotated (Zoe is dog aggressive so has to be walked separately).

I do a training session in the morning, none of my dogs get breakfast, their main meal is in the evening.

I should be better with my record keeping a bit slack in that area.

I have a plan on what I will work on in that session before it starts, and what my goal is for that session, which is specific. Most sessions have a few components (relationship building, the exercise or so I am working on, then more relationship building/chasing/fun) but the entire session is only short - a few to 5 minutes, depending on dog and what I am teaching and the weather.

ETA: I go to agility class once a week (when it is not rained out!) and compete once or twice a month depending on availability of trials in my area.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Kavik

[gsdog2]

Interesting topic - love to know what the Obedience training regimes are like :) .

I take Indi (German Shepherd) to a park (various parks with distractions) daily and train for 10 minutes maximum. We train using her ball for reward so she loves this time together. Then at home we've been practicing db work which will be a number of times throughout the day but only a couple of 'attempts' at a time as she's not as keen on this. II like to see some sort of improvement, no matter how small, but that doesn't always happen.

ETA My aim is to enter Indi in CCD in July and even though I would like to have a written diary I'm yet to be so organised.

Edited May 2, 2012 by gsdog2

[MishB]

I am lucky we live on acreage & have a wonderful, supportive OH who has built me an entire Agility Course. We have two BC dogs, Bindi (4YO) has been competing for two years now & Cricket, who is only 14 months & is in training.

We train every day for about 5 minutes each dog, before they have their breakfast, which is always a RMB. I also train them while walking them to & from the agility course. ie; heeling, recall, sits, drops etc. They really enjoy this & their obsession with it sometimes gets a bit awkward when both dogs want to "heel" etc @ the same time. :laugh:

We also take them to group classes once a week when it's not washed out from the constant rain. We usually work on just a couple of things a session...maybe a couple of minutes on one thing then go onto another. We don't keep at it till they have perfected the behaviour. They have good memories & don't forget what they learnt the day before. I keep track of training in my head & sometimes OH videos it for me. We have goals, as in, want as perfect as possible end behaviour but try not to be too impatient. I might also do some clicker stuff with them during the day & when I take them for a walk in the afternoons, we do more heeling, recalls etc. But the Agility training is only once a day. After dinner at night they come inside & I might do a bit more clicker stuff with them in the lounge room, but mostly it's a time for them to find "their inner naughtiness" & entertain us, or have cuddles, before going to their beds. Have I covered everything :D

ETA...At the end of our training sessions both OH & myself will do things with both dogs at the same time, so they learn to work with us & not run off to play. Does that make sense

Sheena,

Id love to live on a bit of acreage, I grew up on a farm. How good is your OH? thats fantastic. :)

Mine did get us a hydrobath when I was pregnant with our first child (we had 2 GSD's & he said it would make it easier for me to wash them in the hydrobath).

[Luke W]

I'm pretty disorganised and a bit random.

In theory I've got agility classes on Monday, Thursday and Friday nights. Sunday morning is Rally-O and obedience ring training. If the weathers good, I'll usually turn up to at least 3 of these.

I maybe do 10-15 minutes of some sort of training when we are out on our daily walk. Anything from agility waits, circle work, healing, stays, retrieves or even just some tug or ball to build drive (I'm building his play drive).

I also do lots of sessions throughout the house. A quick sit, drop stand, heel and we're done. A couple of nose touches or a left about turn, etc, etc, etc... 5 seconds tops.

At home, I've got 4 jumps and a set of weave poles. But I don't spend much time training at home.

I mix it up heaps.

At the moment I'm training for RallyO so we've got quite a few things to learn. A new exercise - I usually train sepqrately but for no more than 5 minutes at a time.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Luke W

[Weasels]

Mine get the majority of training on their morning walk/run (so before brekky). I will usually just throw in one or two things at a time for a ball or treat, either to redirect their attention back to me or if they are hanging around doing their "hopeful heel" :laugh: I do heeling, recall, down-stays, leave-its, all the basics really plus 'lefts' and 'rights' to direct the foxdog to her ball when she inevitably loses track of it.

Sometimes at home in the evening I will train one dog at a time into a quiet room if I want to teach them something new. If I am teaching something new I will throw in stuff they know well too if I think they are starting to get frustrated or overexcited. Plus whenever I have some suitable food scraps I want to get rid of I will make them work for those.

On weekends we have 2-3 hours of herding, and I have a few agility obstacles in the backyard to work on if the weather's good (jumps, weaves, table & A-frame). We used to do agility classes but they folded I've been thinking about doing obedience with Weez but our local club is vehemently against clickers () and pro-choke chain so I'm looking for somewhere else close that is more consistent with our previous training.

I should probably keep better records and plans, but nope If I'm about to teach a specific trick I will mentally plan out how I will break it down and what I will click at each stage, but of course that is subject to change depending on how the dogs go with it :)

[Podengo]

Elsie is 6 months old, just started competing in rally & obedience (for fun- we're not really very competitive!)

I tried to keep a training journal, but I was rubbish at that.

I usually feed Elsie regularly, smaller meals before car rides though as she can get car sick.

I try to train everyday... Our week day schedule looks somewhat like this...

AM - walk 15 mins, lay track, off-lead for 10-30 mins (practice recalls, waits, stays), do track, if we have time do a couple of fresh tracks, walk home. Sometimes do this in the afternoon and have a regular walk with just off-lead play in the morning.

During day - trick training/shaping and heel work at home, a few sessions, usually around 15 mins training all up. If we did tracking in AM we'll go for a regular walk. I study so this depends on my daily schedule.

PM - Mon & Weds we go to agility club and work on heeling, stays & agility stuff (puppy jump grids, ladderwork, wobbleboards).

Weekends - if we have shows on we will go there and practice heel work, if there are no shows I try to get out somewhere to track, or go out for a big off-lead walk.... Sunday is often lazy day (if there are no shows) and we all sleep in until lunchtime. Starting Sunday morning obedience classes soon though! :D

[Vickie]

Trim - 8 years - Agility

Trim does some training every couple of days. Sometimes 5 mins, sometimes an hour.We trial every 2-3 weeks. I make a note after each trial of anything we found challenging or need improvement on and that forms the basis of our next training session. Since I also teach agility, she usually tests the challenges I set up for students before students arrive. At least once a week, although she is a Masters dog, we do something really easy like a big speed circle. At least once a week we do a reward session with one jump where she is rewarded for keeping bars up & taking directional commands.

Fly & Lass - 11 months - sheep

I try to work them 2-3 times a week. We have goals for each session and I am motivated to achieve them so that we can move on.

Fly & Lass - agility

Lots of foundation work for rewards. Each gets 2 or 3 5-10 mins every couple of days. I have a series of skills that I am building which will all come together when real training starts. We may work on 2-3 different things each session.

I generally take a dog or 2 with me wherever I can when visiting or kids sports etc so they have some general training & get lots of running free.

Each year, we all take a month off where we do no training and just go for long walks and runs on the beach.

We mostly use tug/toys for training but will occasionally use food. I rarely deduct these from meals as they are all lean and fit so it doesn't impact their weight much.

Probably the most important thing to me in training (and that of my students) is that if I identify a problem, or a hole in training that I wasn't aware of, I stop whatever I had planned and work through it then & there.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Vickie

[BC4ME]

Trim - 8 years - Agility

Trim does some training every couple of days. Sometimes 5 mins, sometimes an hour.We trial every 2-3 weeks. I make a note after each trial of anything we found challenging or need improvement on and that forms the basis of our next training session. Since I also teach agility, she usually tests the challenges I set up for students before students arrive. At least once a week, although she is a Masters dog, we do something really easy like a big speed circle. At least once a week we do a reward session with one jump where she is rewarded for keeping bars up & taking directional commands.

Fly & Lass - 11 months - sheep

I try to work them 2-3 times a week. We have goals for each session and I am motivated to achieve them so that we can move on.

Fly & Lass - agility

Lots of foundation work for rewards. Each gets 2 or 3 5-10 mins every couple of days. I have a series of skills that I am building which will all come together when real training starts. We may work on 2-3 different things each session.

I generally take a dog or 2 with me wherever I can when visiting or kids sports etc so they have some general training & get lots of running free.

Each year, we all take a month off where we do no training and just go for long walks and runs on the beach.

We mostly use tug/toys for training but will occasionally use food. I rarely deduct these from meals as they are all lean and fit so it doesn't impact their weight much.

Probably the most important thing to me in training (and that of my students) is that if I identify a problem, or a hole in training that I wasn't aware of, I stop whatever I had planned and work through it then & there.

You posted your last sentence on the K9Pro forum a while back and it made me stop and think about what I was doing and how I was trying to push my dogs to do things beyond what they were capable of.

Becoming aware of the holes we had in or training and fixing them when they arise has been vital and we are now gaining progress at a faster rate and our training sessions are so much fun.

Thanks Vickie your ability to break things down so it is simple to understand is invalueable.

[wuffles]

Good topic :)

We compete in obedience and agility. My competing dog is 2.5 years old. We're in Open obedience, Advanced rally and Novice/Excellent agility. She's my first dog sports dog. She's medium drive, food obsessed but very very soft.

Mine gets breakfast in a Kong/treat toys when I leave for work, so no training then. Upon some people's advice I might ask for one exercise (COP at the moment) before dinner. Not having much luck there as her brain explodes at the sight of the bowl :)

I rarely do agility training outside of classes and trials due to time issues I train at club once a week. When I muster the energy I might do a quick session at the local oval which usually just involves some weaves and short jumping patterns (I only have 4 jumps). To be honest I haven't done this in many weeks. But this is probably why we are not so great at agility :laugh:

Obedience-wise, I do more training when I am teaching new things, but as we've been trialling in Open for a while now I only do a session at the local oval once a week (occasionally twice a week, occasionally once a fortnight). We do attend class at dog club once a week as well. I do a few minutes every few days in the living room, just heelwork turns and basic stuff. This includes rally exercises and rear end awareness (which always needs brushing up on). We walk every morning and occasionally I incorporate some training but not much.

We try to do mock trial type things at least once before each scheduled trial (obedience).

I don't keep a training diary but I should.

I try hard not to overtrain because when I do, things break. My dog is still very young in the obedience world and although she loves training, I have found that too much of it causes issues for us.

If an issue crops up, I go back to basics a few times (eg. A crooked front/anticipated finish that I got the other day, I went and did some short recalls with lured fronts. Then the next day I did a few more, then did a full length recall which was good). I don't train in the few days leading up to a trial.

My first goal is to get each behaviour with enthusiasm. This is more important to me than doing them perfectly. I nearly always start a training session with the 2 food game and very short, quick exercises with big rewards. When still learning I mix known, "fun" exercises with the new ones to build confidence.

[MishB]

Good topic :)

We compete in obedience and agility. My competing dog is 2.5 years old. We're in Open obedience, Advanced rally and Novice/Excellent agility. She's my first dog sports dog. She's medium drive, food obsessed but very very soft.

Mine gets breakfast in a Kong/treat toys when I leave for work, so no training then. Upon some people's advice I might ask for one exercise (COP at the moment) before dinner. Not having much luck there as her brain explodes at the sight of the bowl :)

I rarely do agility training outside of classes and trials due to time issues I train at club once a week. When I muster the energy I might do a quick session at the local oval which usually just involves some weaves and short jumping patterns (I only have 4 jumps). To be honest I haven't done this in many weeks. But this is probably why we are not so great at agility :laugh:

Obedience-wise, I do more training when I am teaching new things, but as we've been trialling in Open for a while now I only do a session at the local oval once a week (occasionally twice a week, occasionally once a fortnight). We do attend class at dog club once a week as well. I do a few minutes every few days in the living room, just heelwork turns and basic stuff. This includes rally exercises and rear end awareness (which always needs brushing up on). We walk every morning and occasionally I incorporate some training but not much.

We try to do mock trial type things at least once before each scheduled trial (obedience).

I don't keep a training diary but I should.

I try hard not to overtrain because when I do, things break. My dog is still very young in the obedience world and although she loves training, I have found that too much of it causes issues for us.

If an issue crops up, I go back to basics a few times (eg. A crooked front/anticipated finish that I got the other day, I went and did some short recalls with lured fronts. Then the next day I did a few more, then did a full length recall which was good). I don't train in the few days leading up to a trial.

My first goal is to get each behaviour with enthusiasm. This is more important to me than doing them perfectly. I nearly always start a training session with the 2 food game and very short, quick exercises with big rewards. When still learning I mix known, "fun" exercises with the new ones to build confidence.

What does COP stand for? Im not up on the shortened versions yet sorry.

[wuffles]

What does COP stand for? Im not up on the shortened versions yet sorry.

Sorry, change of position :) In Open that is leaving the dog in a stand, asking them to drop, sit and come. It's the last exercise in the ring which means her brain is sometimes out the window by then so in our last trial I got a "Sit? What's that?" :laugh:

Edited May 4, 2012 by wuffles

[MishB]

I am trying to do a little training before breakfast ( 5 minutes) but I am not a morning person at all, so it is a struggle.

I do a bit either mid morning or after lunch depending on what times I am working or doing Mum duties. Can be a bit unpredictable due to my child having special needs.Some weeks I am flat out with Doctors, therapys or school volunteering so poor dogs can get a bit neglected especially if my hubby is away.If he is away when Samuel is having a flare up then I cant walk them but they get a fair bit more playing & trick training at home these weeks.I try to walk them when the kids are at school when they are both well, or evenings when hubby is available.

I feel like I should be keeping a bit of a diary about what Im training especially with my pup, Im very forgetful & it would be nice to see the progress written down but I never get round to actually doing it.He is only 19 wks, Im not sure how he is going in comparison to othr dogs his age & am curious to know. I know you shouldnt compare yourself to others though but I am still curious.

My friend who is a vet reckons Im a bit anal with my dogs, & they are way better trained & mannered than pretty much all of the dogs she sees.I did remind her that most of the dogs she sees are not being trained to do competitions so a bit of pulling or not being able to stand for exam absolutely still isnt necessary, she just smiles & nods.

I always tell my clients to keep a diary of their food & training, it is a proven motivational tool & is a great reference to look back on. I should take some of my own advice with my dog training hey!

Interesting that a few other ppl feel like they should keep a diary too.

What is the usual age of dogs going in their first obedience trials these days?

I am not familiar with CCD, my previous & only trialling dog was in the 90's when we did CD & CDX. CD was quite hard I seem to remember, it took me ages to get his title. Then CDX was fairly quick after that because I was training for it while trying to pass CD. I dont know how tough judges are nowadays, I was marked down for crooked recalll sit in fronts & a bit of lagging in the off lead in CD back then.

From memory Beau was probably about 2 & 1/2 when we got our CD, maybe a bit older, but it only took 4 trials to get our CDX after that.