Each training session should be long enough for the skills to be learned, but short enough to be effective without being too tiring. Most trainers agree that sessions should ideally last fifteen minutes and certainly no more than twenty five minutes. With this in mind here are five tips to help ensure success with all of your training sessions. For convenience, we will refer to your dog as “he”, rather than “he or she”.
1 Select a Suitable Training Environment.
Always ensure that there are no avoidable distractions present during a training session. It is important that your dog has every chance to concentrate on the lesson at hand. Your chosen training spot should, if possible, be free of other people and other dogs, with minimal background noise from traffic or industry.
2 Have Fun and Be Excited
It is important to ensure that every training session is enjoyable for both the trainer and the dog. Always praise and reward your dog when he does something well, and remain serene when things do not go as planned. Your excitement is infectious, and so he too will be happy and have fun. Dogs enjoy some play time after each training session.
3 Be Sure To Have a Positive Attitude
Even when things do not go according to your plan, it is important to maintain a positive attitude. Your dog can read your body language, as well as pick up on your spoken words. Even when you may feel frustrated, you must retain your positive approach to the training and to your dog.
4 Maintain a Consistent Approach
Not only should you be consistent in your training approaches from day to day, but you should work to a routine on a day to day basis. An occasional day off during the training period is one thing, but skipping a few days at a time and keeping an irregular timetable will not help your dog to learn.
5 Always Be Patient
Even though it may be difficult for you to remain patient at all times, especially when things are not progressing well, you must make the effort. Often the good results occur just when you least expect them to happen.
We wish you every training success and years of enjoyment for both you and your dog.
