Finding Time to Train

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Finding Time to Train

One minute here, one minute there

Karen B. London

, PhD

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March 19, 2010

Rich has Bugsy heel when returning to the house from the backyard.

Many people struggle to find the time to train their dogs, and with today’s busy lifestyles, I am very sympathetic to the problem. (Between my work with dogs, my writing, teaching at the university, being a wife and mom, coaching soccer and my running, I am always strapped for time. In fact, lately I have adopted a policy of, “If it’s not on fire, I’m not putting it out yet.”) And yet, I think it’s possible to find time to train our dogs. It’s a matter of squeezing in a minute here, a minute there, rather than trying to find those elusive big blocks of time. Of course, I’m in favor of more training over less, but it’s better to incorporate a little training into daily life than to do no training at all.

Just like flossing your teeth or working your abs for just a few minutes when you watch TV or a movie, dog training can be worked in little by little. Here are some ways to incorporate dog training into the day in a way that won’t take away from everything else you need to be doing.

Do a couple of repetitions of sit and down each time a commercial comes on TV. (For people with TiVo, it is still possible to work in a sit or two while you are skipping past the commercials.)
Ask your dog for a stay each morning while you are brushing your teeth.
Have your dog wait at the door each time you go outside, even when if you are just going out to get the paper or out for a walk together.
Practice a trick or two while you are out on a walk.
Do a minute of heeling practice when you are in the back yard for any reason such as to water the flowers, dump your compost, or to have a cup of coffee on the back porch.
Call your dog to come when you are about to go on a walk. (It’s one of the easiest ways to teach your dog that good things happen when he responds to the cue “come!”)
Have your dog heel with you each time you head to the bathroom.

The basic idea is to work little training moments into your life in ways that don’t take time away from other activities. Sure, it’s great to spend a lot of time training your dog, and I wish that everyone would do so. But if training seems to be eluding you despite your best intentions, try considering little ways to work in training moments every day. Even 10 minutes a day in little bouts of 15-60 seconds can make a tremendous difference. You’ll reap the benefits of a better trained dog, losing that feeling of guilt for not training more, and having more time to do what you really want, which hopefully includes exercising with and playing with your dog.

How do you work training your dogs into daily life?

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Karen B. London, PhD, is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Certified Professional Dog Trainer who specializes in working with dogs with serious behavioral problems, including aggression. She is the author of five books on canine training and behavior.