Who Often Do You Train And For How Long?

[Lablover]

We all know puppies have a low attention span.

Customs and quarantine dogs etc are worked for short intervals and then rested.

Just for interest, I thought it worthwhile I ask, how often do you train and for how long?

Starting with young puppies?

Do you crate or isolate before and after training?

[Tunsafun Boxers]

I started cooper the day her arrived, so 9 weeks old. but the training is only done for about 2 minutes at a time.

if he gets it right, even if we've only been working for a minute, his reward is to go play.

with my girl poppy, we train for about 10 minutes at a time, but a lot of that is playing and doing things to build up her confidence.

as for crating, they learn that as soon as i can start teaching them.

[PAX]

I train my eight month old pup for maybe five minutes max hopefully a couple of times a day. I think my expectations are to low because she will try to initiate play with the ball all day if it was an option and will happily stare at it as if willing it to move for very long periods, much longer than I would expect her to be attentive to me. I think I am going to start asking for a bit more but include play in the sessions. I need to take the toys away when we are not training and stop being such a puppy sucker. :rolleyes:

[PAX]

I forgot to say, I have three dogs and all get crated while one gets worked.

[whatevah]

My dogs basically stay outside all day, and come in at night time. I am crate training Tia at night times only so if I go to a flyball comp etc, she will be used to being in a crate. My dogs all get taken to a park where they using go swimming most days. Even at the park I practice recalls with them. At home I take one dog out on the nature strip and the other dogs are in the yard. I will do maybe 30 seconds work with one dog and then reward the other dogs for being quiet, then do a bit more. Also in the mornings before the dog is fed it has to do one training thing such as give eye contact while its food bowl is on the ground which takes about 5 seconds, or its food is in the crate and it just goes in their and eats it, or I might throw a tennis ball and as soon as the dog brings it back it gets its breakfast. Or I might go and let the chooks out then I call the dogs away from the chooks and too the car. So it is all different types of training that can last from about 5 seconds to about 5 minutes max.

[Lablover]

I need to take the toys away when we are not training and stop being such a puppy sucker. :rolleyes:

Take the toys away. Satisfaction is achieved under our terms. Also when ending training, making sure the dog is still keen to work, (experience with timing helps us all in this regard), initiate rewards, but do not release such. Have the dog begging for more. Sorry if you already know this. Regardless, end training on a good note, type of thing.

Thanks PAX and TBs for your responses.

[jesomil]

Pup - about 8 weeks old, 1-2 mins training a couple of times per week.

This gradually builds to a few minutes everyday.

Adult - 10 - 15mins solid training most days sometimes twice a day.

Dogs are finished on a good note and still very keen for more.

But this is only talking about training sessions not sessions where the dog is simply working doing what it has been previously taught.

[Guest Clover]

With Harri the pup (Bit over 3 months old) he gets maybe 1 or 2 small sessions a day, they are about 1 minute long. He is crate trainined but is not confined before or after a little training session, he only sleeps and travels in his crate. Harri also gets training during the day, recall training at the park, recall training off the cat (he is in love with the cat :rolleyes: ), sitting calmly for meals (Getting good at that), general house manners .

The others get maybe 3 - 5 minutes at the park once a fortnight, Clover more often... hopefully we will be back to trial standard again in obedience soon.

[Tangwyn]

Hi Julie,

Mature, fit Quarantine dogs actually work for up to an hour at a time (sometimes more if the handler is equally fit ). When you think about the fact that for this whole time the dog is actively searching, thinking, and weighing up all the odours they are inhaling its really quite incredible. Of course, like most dogs undergoing training they start off doing very short sessions - sometimes only a couple of minutes - and gradually build the focus and stamina needed for a longer search time. As you said, the aim is always to finish with the dog wanting more. This is the key to not only maintaining but building drive.

With my own dogs I follow the same principles. I have a 3 1/2 month old pup at the moment that I am doing 2 or 3 five minute sessions a day with. This will get slightly longer as he gets older however not by much. I find that the Labs seem to be able to maintain focus alot longer than the other retriever breeds. I think that's what helps to make Labs so good with drill work! Unfortunately for my drill work aspirations I don't own a Lab My Golden always worked better with a couple of 10 minute sessions a day - any longer than that and his brain clocked off and went home for the day :D

Tangwyn

[Lablover]

Tangwyn????????, You called me by my "normal" name.

UM????? No idea who are you. You did not happen to have a lovely Golden by the name of Nelson?

[Sayreovi]

No where near as often as i should be

Maybe once a week where i do a full run through for obedience with both dogs, then maybe focus on certain bits and do a little more training that way. Probably about 30 minutes each but i am constantly swapping dogs too keep them "fresh"

[Vickie]

I do something every day with the girls, sometimes structured, sometimes more general life stuff. Only 5 mins at a time with Shine & a bit longer with Trim, depending on what we're doing. If we are working on something specific, we will do 3-4 sessions a day.

With the boys, we just do bits & pieces here & there.

I also try to do little things sometimes when all the dogs are out, either group things or work with one while the others are in a stay or restrained.

For sheepwork I always give them time to think in the crate afterwards and they are basically crated when not working. Usually in agility I need a rest before they do, LOL.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Vickie

[Tangwyn]

Tangwyn????????, You called me by my "normal" name.

UM????? No idea who are you. You did not happen to have a lovely Golden by the name of Nelson?

Got me in one I have a Flatcoat now. Glutton for punishment if ever there was one!!

[Tonymc]

like everybody else a little bit and gradually extended. Tony

[Guest Steph & Bam]

I do 10 minutes at a time about 3 times a day, we're working on distractions at the moment (maintaining focus with distractions).

What do you do for an adult dog that has never been taught anything before?

This is the problem I had with Bam. I went back to basics and treated him like a puppy, just 1-3 minutes, once a day, working up to what I do now. It worked really well for me.

[squeak]

What do you do for an adult dog that has never been taught anything before?

For me, find out where to buy a never-ending supply of patience My first task was to teach her how to learn, if that makes sense. She did not appear to be food motivated, nor toy, nor anything.... made it quite a challenge initially. Since she appeared not to be food motivated, I had to physically position her for things like sit & drop. I hear all the "positive trainers" throw their hands up in horror. Trust me, it wasn't the way I planned to teach her, but I had no choice. Since I couldn't lure her with food (I tried, and tried and almost cried) I didn't have many other options. If I didn't physically show her what I wanted, she would become extremely frustrated. I have found over time, probably as her trust in me has increased, that she will work for food. I think it was a matter of her not being used to taking food from someone's hand. We are just now getting to the stage that she will follow a treat as a lure - we "play" occasionally with clicker training, but only when I can see that she is in a receptive state. For her, she needs to be "slightly wound" in order to offer behaviours. I sometimes "cheat" with clicker training and still use a food lure to show her what I want, otherwise she gets frustrated very quickly with trying to work it out. If she shows signs of frustration I will push her, just a little, until I get a correct response that I can reward and then quit. We have both learnt that sometimes her best successes come after she is frustrated. By frustration, I mean she does this scratching thing or wanders away. I don't want to reward this behaviour, so I let her have a think, I take a deep breath, we try again, hopefully succeed and call it quits.

I have also found now that she has "learnt how to learn", particularly when we are "playing clicker" she is starting to offer behaviours slightly more readily. They do tend to be the one's that she has already learnt, but it is like she is trying to figure out what I want, so I think that has to be a good thing.

Sorry to ramble so long, but it is something that I think about a lot.