# how long should a training session be?



## Molly's Mum (Apr 1, 2011)

The trainer who took our classes said little and often is the key. I think 10 minutes is plenty long enough for a pup, several times a day is good rather than all lumped into a once a day session. When I'm training Molly I always stop before she starts getting bored or tired, and we always end with a play session and lots of cuddles and fuss.


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## Bentley's Mom (May 19, 2011)

Our trainer says the same as Molly's Mum's. Short spread out throughout the day and always end on a happy note before they or you get frustrated.


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## lyssa (Mar 1, 2011)

Some puppies can't even do 10 minutes. Some can do more. Leave you pup wanting to train more, so finish before he wants to finish, and like the others said, end on a high note. Make it really fun too, keep yourself and him moving so it's not just sit, sit, down, down, down. One of the first things I taught my pup was to target my hand with his nose, so I would do two downs, then a hand target to get him moving so the energy wouldn't start going flat, then back to working on downs. Doing some recalls in the middle of your session is a great way to keep the energy up too! 

Another thing to consider is that research has shown dogs do better if you don't work on the same things day in day out. So switch it up a bit, if you work on down two days in a row, skip the next day and train something else in its place. For some reason having a day to process means faster progress overall. Having a training free day is also good from time to time. This wasn't strictly just about the length of sessions, but I thought it may be useful information anyway!

A great training program that uses all positive training and clickers is Sue Ailsby's Training Levels, which you can either train by using an old version online or buy the brand new updated books. I've been using them for my puppy, and couldn't be happier with his progress. Since you're not taking your pup to puppy class you may want something well structured like this. Good luck with your pup.


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## Yuki (Oct 5, 2011)

thanks everyone  guess i will increase the times we train in day together instead of increasing the time of each session.

 Yuki is very energetic and always eager to please. i never repeat same commands for the next day. i dont really know why but i love variety and i dont like repeating the same stuff daily...i find it very boring. i am surprised at Yuki's learning ability as he keeps up with me and he is honestly learning quickly too. what we do today is not the same the next day. both of us dont get bored and even after 10 mins Yuki still wants to keep going lol.  we always end our training with lots of playing, cuddling, petting, licks and kisses...lol and napping together sometimes.


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

I would think that if you increased to 15 minutes for each session and do that 3x a day it would work out well. Most pupy classes are 45-50minutes long ( well atleast around here they are). Also make sure you are doing training in different areas. Train in the bedroom, the front yard, the back yard, walk down the street and work on his training. If you always do his training in one place he might do what you ask if you are in a different place.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Anne Marie Silverton, a very well known trainer, recommends one minute for every month the dog is. So for a four month old pup, four minute sessions.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

The other thing to consider is that if you have a smart dog, they are either going to get bored or "sloppy" with too many repetitions. My old instructor recommended aiming for 3 good reps and moving on to something else. That can be 5-15 minute sessions, depending on how many different things you are working on.

I also kinda do the "Nothing in Life is Free" method, which means that my dog never gets treats for being cute. He has to earn them. Same thing with his meals. 

The other thing is capitalize on whatever GOOD behaviors your dog offers on his own. If he's looking at you, PRAISE that, mark it with a word (example: watch) and reward. 

I work on the same things every day (still do with new things) simply because dogs have short term memories sometimes. You want them to learn something, you keep it fresh in their minds. 

Even with my adult dog, we only aim for 10 minute training sessions. Again, my main thing is a bored dog is a sloppy dog. So I try not to let him get bored.  

Class is slightly different... but even there, a long class is not one hour of continuous training. There's a lot of down time between exercises. 

*** One thing I wanted to throw in here, but while you are not doing puppy classes, the other thing you need to be working on is getting your puppy out to as many different safe places for him to experience. You are also going to be working on carefully building your puppy's confidence and trust and love of people.


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## Yuki (Oct 5, 2011)

thanks everyone  

i will increase the time too and see how he does. i dont like doing too many reps myself lol. i usually keep an eye on his attention level and stop before he gets bored...which is pretty rare. i often mix old and new commands so he can always remember whats what. 

 i kinda have a smart dog here. learns too quickly and needs very few reps to remember. it surprises me often that he follows well. i wouldnt have trained him for 10 mins X 3 times a day or a bunch of commands if he wasnt smart (about 15 commands in english, 3 commands in japanese and 6 in our local language). i would have given up teaching him stuff if he didnt follow me. i cant describe how happy and proud i am to have him here with me. i honestly love him so much. he is my BEST dog ever <3

we have our no-training days too  we just lie around doing nothing, watching TV, playing and eating plain frozen yogurt. we also mess around and get scolded by mom (-_-) mom caught us playing with the hose and a tub of water...she put me and Yuki out and told us not to enter the house until we were both dry. 



Megora said:


> *** One thing I wanted to throw in here, but while you are not doing puppy classes, the other thing you need to be working on is getting your puppy out to as many different safe places for him to experience. You are also going to be working on carefully building your puppy's confidence and trust and love of people.


er...that would be difficult for us right now  there arent many "safe" places where i live. parks dont allow pets and there are too many strays on the street. there are also many other reasons but i rather not type them all here.


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