The easiest way to fit in training every day for us is to pair it with everyday activities. Setting aside time specifically is nice and I try to but sometimes it just gets lost in everyday living.
The dogs are expected to sit/lie down and wait nicely for their meals. They’re not allowed to eat until they get a verbal confirmation. Mr. N is very good at this and will wait patiently even if I leave the room. Foster Pup Onyxx? If I don’t watch him, he will scarf everything down the moment he senses the opportunity.
The dogs are fed several small meals a day (due to Mr. N’s sensitive stomach). For their “snacks,” they usually have to perform. If I’m in a rush, they get away with a trick each. But usually it’s a combination of tricks. I try to vary the order so the dogs don’t anticipate what’s coming. Onyxx always thinks “play dead” comes right after “down” and he’ll flop over as soon as he lies down.
So it might look something like this for Mr. N: sit, shake, dance, back up, spin, spin the other way, down, roll over, touch (high), beg. It takes about two minutes and reinforces their trick knowledge.
Onyxx’s isn’t quite as long both because we’re still working on his impulse control and he doesn’t know as many tricks but he is adding to his repertoire. In the past two weeks, he’s learned how to spin, jump through a hoop, and wave.
I’ll put one of the dogs in a stay and run through several tricks with the other dog. Both dogs find this difficult. Onyxx will start demand barking and Mr. N comes over and starts running through his tricks. It’s good for their impulse control though.
Also I’ll use odd bits of time here and there to work on training. I’ll unload the dishwasher and tell them to stay for however long it takes me. I’ll ask for a couple of tricks during commercial breaks. If we’re waiting in line, we’ll do a couple of the more stationary tricks (shake, watch me, touch etc).
I got word today that a local dog daycare will let Onyxx take their basic training class for free (which is nice of them). He knows almost everything they’re teaching in the class but I figure working in a high distraction environment will be good for him plus I need to work with him on curbing his demand barking. We’ll see if he’s the star or the dunce of the class!
January 6, 2014 2:17 pm
That is so fun that you keep their minds working! Good luck with Onyxx's classes!
January 7, 2014 12:18 am
Thanks! I hope he doesn't try to embarrass me as dogs are wont to do!
January 6, 2014 2:36 pm
Torrey is super easy to teach tricks to. I just need to think some up.
January 7, 2014 12:18 am
There's a trick book we like. I think it's called 101 dog tricks.
January 6, 2014 4:58 pm
Great leave it!
January 7, 2014 12:21 am
Thanks! I try to drill "leave it" into them because they're so good at finding food…
January 6, 2014 5:18 pm
Excellent ways to fit in training time. Our boys are usually in their crates for their meal time but lately I have been working on making them behave while the meal is prepared.
January 7, 2014 12:19 am
Onyxx refuses to eat in a crate but Mr. N usually eats in his play pen. They usually wait by the kitchen for prep first though.
January 6, 2014 8:25 pm
What a great rundown on how to incorporate training into "real life!" The dishwasher idea is fabulous! I am going to have to use that one. Admittedly, I don't take advantage of some of those training opps as much as I should.
Have fun in the class with Onyxx!
January 7, 2014 12:20 am
Thanks! Onyxx thinks my being in the kitchen always means food so I make him work for it!
January 7, 2014 12:43 am
Those are great ways to incorporate it into your routine!
Nola
January 8, 2014 3:00 am
Thanks, Nola.
January 7, 2014 1:16 am
Great post! Love the dishwasher idea – I like to make them stay while I'm washing my face/putting on makeup in the bathroom in the morning. Actually I'm a weirdo in that I think the bathroom is one of the best places for fitting in short training sessions. I love that you ask for multiple tricks for meals, I find that it's way better for impulse control to ask dogs to do tricks in motion while their food is sitting nearby rather than just sitting and waiting. My dogs have a much harder time spinning or something "active" and ignoring their food at the same time than just sitting and waiting.
January 8, 2014 2:48 am
I'm usually not awake enough in the morning when I first get up to train lol. Onyxx finds the notion of ignoring food incredible. He's like you want me to do what?
January 7, 2014 4:07 am
Very cool! I used to be very into making Nailah perform for her meals too but have gotten a bit lazy about it lately. After reading your wonderful post I'm going to get back to it! 😀
January 8, 2014 3:01 am
Thanks. It has a practical proponent to it too. There are only so many calories the little pups can eat a day. They all need to go to training in one way or another!
January 7, 2014 4:40 am
Great idea to work it into your everyday routine! I use to do that, I need to get into the habit of doing it again. Petal also has to sit and wait until released before she can eat. I need to start having her do other tricks too before meal time. I'll be sure to in the morning before breakfast! 🙂 Thanks for the post and for hosting the hop! I look forward to it again next month. 🙂
January 8, 2014 2:52 am
Thanks for joining! It's a lot easier when it's part of the routine rather than something you fit in. The dogs are used to it now.
January 7, 2014 4:56 am
I do the same thing, working training into our everyday routine. But, I have a really hard time with getting one of my dogs to do a "stay" while I work tricks with the other. One is a demand barker (when he's not the one doing tricks), and the other simply won't stay. Now that you've made me think about it, perhaps I need to step back and simply work on having one stay while the other is serving as the distraction by being free to do what they want (and my focus is on the one who is staying). Thanks!
January 7, 2014 7:32 am
You're welcome! I jackpot treat (they get a couple in rapid succession) for holding a stay until I finish with one dog. They're getting better at it.
January 7, 2014 12:47 pm
Sounds like you have a great plan. Have to admit, we don't really work on tricks with brown dawgs. They know a couple, but mostly we stick to boring obedience for their field work. Good luck to Onyx with his obedience class. I was thinking that I need to talk to hubby about maybe getting Freighter into a basic obedience class for the same reason you are taking Onyx….nice high distraction environment.
January 8, 2014 2:50 am
It's not quite as "useful" as field work but having a small fluffy dog means we attract kids by the boatload and he does tricks to entertain them. I should start charging admission! I have a feeling though food overrules everything for Onyxx and the only high distraction will be other dogs eating.
January 7, 2014 6:33 pm
Rooooo stop it – you're giving my human all sorts of ideas for things she can teach me to do *waggy tail*. We're taking the 'train your dog month' challenge so I will cover some tricks on my blog this month too *Waggy tail*
January 8, 2014 2:48 am
Well at least you'll get treats out of it right?
January 9, 2014 7:28 am
I love Onyxx!! I am so glad you are going to get free classes… I think you are doing a great job with him 🙂 and I am so glad you guys have this hop open a few more days! Will definitely join in… getting ready for school is getting crazy!!
January 9, 2014 11:17 pm
It's been interesting working with him. The boyfriend thinks he's hilarious and he drives me a little crazy because he is so clueless lol.
January 9, 2014 3:18 pm
I LOVE this blog hop! What a phenomenal idea! I'm so with you that training through everyday life makes such a big difference. I hope all goes well with the little one's training class, too!
January 9, 2014 11:16 pm
Thanks! First class is tonight but it's the one without the dog.
April 30, 2014 3:55 am
Great post! We do a training Tuesday blog! Will hop on this one next time!!
October 14, 2016 3:11 pm
Fantastic LEAVE IT photo! Penny is the only dog we've done formal training with, so when I work with her, I try to do so away from the senior hounds. She's done great with leave it, which is one of the ones I'm most proud of. 🙂
October 14, 2016 10:50 pm
Thank you. Training dogs separately is ideal but Mr. N feels like he MUST be included in every training session.
October 14, 2016 3:46 pm
Terrific post! Icy is so much better trained than Phoebe, we've spent more time with her on tricks and such. I try to use everyday opportunities to re-enforce training as well, but I've been lax in continuing more advanced tricks. Onyxx is doing great! He will definitely be the Star of that class.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
October 14, 2016 10:50 pm
Oh he was haha. And it was definitely not because he was the smartest dog in the class. Practice makes perfect!
October 14, 2016 4:11 pm
That's great that Onyxx can take that class for free. A refresher is always a good idea.
October 14, 2016 10:51 pm
It was nice of them to offer. He knew pretty much everything but I thought it would be good to work on cues in a more chaotic environment.
October 14, 2016 7:13 pm
Your furbabies are adorable! I commend you for finding the time to train your pups. I am terribly guilty of getting lost and overly busy and just letting my Lyla have her way!
October 14, 2016 10:52 pm
Thank you. Mr. N is my pup but Onyxx was a foster. I train around meal times a lot so that serves as a natural reminder.
October 15, 2016 7:48 am
Excellent suggestion. I'm convinced if people worked training into their daily routine, as you recommend, they're more likely to do it then if they felt they had to set aside a specific amount of time each day.
October 15, 2016 10:16 am
Mr N is a superstar not to gobble up all those treats! Onyx is super adorable!
October 15, 2016 2:36 pm
We will definitely be joining in on the +R blog hop! I've been working hard to teach some impulse control to one of our foster/adopted/fosterfailures !
October 16, 2016 2:43 pm
That is a great idea to incorporate your training throughout the day.
October 16, 2016 4:28 pm
Onyx remind me of my Keira. She enjoys food so much and just can't wait for anything! Rosa is a lot like Mr. N, she's not really motivated by food.
October 16, 2016 9:29 pm
LOL Onyxx is a smart pup, well I would do the play dead after lying down – its closer 😉
Training properly is so important. Encouragement and positive feelings make a huge difference.
October 17, 2016 2:31 am
I wish Layla would learn some tricks, at the moment am working on her with one of the puzzles but she is not interested LOL
October 17, 2016 3:55 am
That "Leave it" is EPIC!!! Oh my gosh. My dogs know that command but I don't know if they would had sat through that being spelled out. Bravo!
October 17, 2016 4:38 am
I was actually working with Truffle today on "sit". She was doing it naturally when I was giving her a new treat, so I took advantage of it and began the training. We'll see how it works, but she was learning quickly.
October 17, 2016 5:37 am
Great idea! I like the idea of pairing training with everyday tasks. Mr. N does an amazing job with his tricks! It sounds like Onyx has a little further to go, but he has a great behavior model in Mr. N. 🙂
-Purrs from your friends at http://www.PlayfulKitty.net
October 17, 2016 7:49 am
Training a little each day is so important for the well being of your dog. We love the fact that you have a schedule in place
October 17, 2016 8:47 pm
I really like the working training into every day situations. I love when we were teaching our three pups (now adults, but still act like pups!) as they would do everything in tandum. Sit…and you'd see them sit down – pup 1, pup 2, pup 3. So cute! Great post! Love your pics, too, epecially the "Leave It" one! So creative (and quite impressive)!