The other day I was working with my dog, Loker, on a heel exercise. It was the back-end awareness exercise I have already mentioned. It was a short session because this exercise is proving to be a bit of a challenge for him. Learning how to move their backend independently of their front end does not come naturally to dogs. Loker has likely never had to do this kind of body movement in his life.
We had a good session and I was able to end it on a good note. I sat down to do some other work, but Loker looked at me like “are we done already?!”
So with that, I will say that you should always leave your dog wanting more. Stopping before the dog is ready means you will have a more motivated and driven dog for the next training session. You never want to work so long so that your dog gets tired or bored.
Training sessions should never be longer than 10 minutes. Remember that training is more of a mental exercise than physical. Mental challenges are much more exhausting for dogs than physical. This is why 10 minutes is plenty of time for the average dog.
During those 10 minutes you should also take “mini” breaks. Take your time refilling treats or throw a treat away from you so your dog can go after it. This helps the dog relax a little bit instead of demanding focus and concentration the whole time which is tough for a dog.
Feel free to have as many 10 minute training sessions a day as you’d like as long as there is a decent break between them.
