Training Schedules

[Sarah1985]

As some of you may know I have alot of doggy hobbies and me and my dogs love training. Ive been trying to do more with my dogs to increase their learning but Im worried im over doing it.
What are peoples experinces of this? Can you do too much training? And if you do more does it result in them being too focused and not able to switch off and just have fun (for example on walks)?

Also roughly how much time do you guys put into trainin each week? Whats peoples perceptions on whats too much?

Im thinking that I just need to make my training sessions more productive rather than increasing their duration. I dont particularly plan them and i think i waste alot of time going over old ground and not progressing tricks forward. If a class or practice group has stopped for a few weeks I struggle to focus unless ive got specific homework to work on Lol. Any on putting a training plan together would be much appreciated.

Has anyone got any advise for me.

[Helen]

I think it depends on what type of training you're doing - mine is gundog stuff which naturally he loves so he always has fun because the sniffing and flushing carries on to his walks.   He could handle a lot more and if he didn't enjoy it I would ease up.  We've tried other things such as agility and he got far less enjoyment from that so we've concentrated on him being a gundog 

TBH I hate the thought of cockers not enjoying their 'down time' 

[Sarah1985]

Yea I agree Helen. I dont want to push it to that extent. I know someone whose dog got abit obbessed with training and whilest this is ok for people who can keep this up i want my dogs to be able to enjoy down time for those days when i havent got the energy to put into training.

We do a variety of things, which makes me wonder if i can get away with doing more with them. I usually mix up some heel work to music and basic obedience and then end on either tracking or gun dog work as a treat as they enjoy it the most, followed by playing. (Usually hide and seek or tuggy) then we go for a walk and to find some play mates. So i do make sure training is good fun for them and always leads to something good.

They enjoy it most when i mash it all my training together, which i really should do more often. Its quite a a sight to see a dog do a spin on his way back to his owner with a ball. Or good distance stop and then get into a beg. I get some strange looks.

[Helen]

if they (as they should) enjoy gundog training the most why not do more of that?

[Nicola]

Other than basic obedience I only really do gundog work with my lot and I think to a great extent how much you do depends on the individual dog, Caoimhe for example can take a lot more formal training than Rodaidh could at her age, both in terms of quantity and intensity. They are very different types of dog in that respect but I still don't overdo it with Caoimhe, I try to go for quality of training over quantity.

Caoimhe is being trained to trial and 20 minutes training 5-6 days a week is plenty, she could do more but I like to keep her keen and maximise the time rather than go on and on and overdo it. Her case is a bit different in that I'm training her for a specific purpose and she doesn't go on 'normal' walks with the other dogs as yet but she gets plenty of exercise and playtime and although she's extremely focussed and driven when we're out she switches it off really well at home, she knows when she's working and when it's 'off' time.

I have a training plan for Caoimhe and I find it really useful, I did start a thread on it here but wasn't very good at updating it It really depends what you want to do and what you're hoping to achieve, when I was putting C's plan together I started with where I wanted her to get to and then worked out how to get there.

[Sarah1985]

if they (as they should) enjoy gundog training the most why not do more of that?

Im limited with gun dog training as theres no trainers round here who use techniques i agree with. So its all self taught, which is where is struggle the most to plan training. Plus Im not sure where to take my training next. If i have a weekly class I can practice the things we covered the previous week and it gives my training structure and direction.

I enjoy the heel work to music (well canine freestlye) as it gives your training an added element and improves timing and responce times. I also  like that i can do absolutely anything in a routine and it gives your training such a huge scope. Some of the things i do are developed from the gun dog stuff. For example I love watching them complete a series of tricks at a distance and they handle props very well compared to the other dogs we practice with.

My dogs do enjoy the heel work to music just not in the same way. Im not sure if its not that they cant show me their enthusism in the same way as a field work. They get very excited when i get the props out for dancing but they seem to show me abit more self control when im working with them, which is needed but makes me think they're not enjoying it as much. I suspect that its my interpreation of their behaviour when in fact its just because they know I need them to be abit more self controlled for freestyle. (does that make sense?Lol)

[Sarah1985]

I have a training plan for Caoimhe and I find it really useful, I did start a thread on it here but wasn't very good at updating it It really depends what you want to do and what you're hoping to achieve, when I was putting C's plan together I started with where I wanted her to get to and then worked out how to get there.

Yea i think i need to work out what i want to achieve. (maybe difficult as my dogs are jacks of all trades thanks to my floaty training ) My aim at the moment is to have a basic canine freestlye routine worked out to a sufficient quality that I can use it at demos. Id like to incorporate various doggy disciplines. Although I may move to competiting in the future so it might be worth checking out the various rules and regulations i need to abide by and the marking criteria.

Then i can work out what elements i want to include the music and then start training the elements they dont know and putting together those bits they do know.

Thanks for your help. I have a rough idea what i need to do now.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

I think it also depends on the age of your dogs and what stage of maturity they're at. Mine are 3 & 5yrs now and we're not as focused as you as primarily my dogs are family companions and we like hiking and cycling together. So I train them enough so that they are mentally stimulated and at a reasonable level of obedience. We've tried heelwork to music and agility but it's not really 'us'. Dave enjoys it the most, but Normy thinks it's ridiculous, she'll master stuff like that really quickly then throw herself on the floor in a strop if I ask her to do it again So because they both enjoy basic gundog and obedience we do that mostly and I sometimes do some tricks with Dave.

I do find that both of them will tell me when they've had enough and they both like breaks from training at times too. I'd just say be guided  by your dogs, if they're going stale on things or becoming a bit too frantic, knock it on the head for a while until you find a balance you're all happy with I prefer to train at good moments when opportunities arrive, rather than planning to do it if that makes sense so most exercises we do are relevent to where we are and what we're doing. If we're in a field with some shrubs/trees they get sent off to track and flush, in the woods I'll hide a dummy for them, on lanes we'll practice heelwork or some other basic obedience and at home it's hide and seek or a few tricks for Dave but I we just do it for a few mins when I've got spare time and they're in the right mood and not every day.

I find even basic things need a break at times - both mine have very good recall for example, but my Weim is having a bit of a funny time at the moment so I've walked where I can leave her to her own devices for a couple of weeks and she's much keener now and less 'I'll do it when I'm ready'.... bless her

I'd say it is important to let them relax as they'll always be times when you can't offer as much so it's harder for them to handle those times if they're used to being 'too' occupied if that makes sense?

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