Dove, Dogs, and Shotguns

Since Layla came in my life, I’ve been told one hundred different ways to train her.

I’ve read articles on positive reinforcement training, clicker training (which is positive reinforcement training with a clicker), negative reinforcement training and everything in between. Hell, last night I read an article that recommended putting your dog in time out for mis-behaving. How does a person know what to do?

I’ve came to a realization, it’s not how you train, it is that you actually train. Whether you want to give your dog treats for good behavior or punish for bad, just do something.

Time is the key. I have four kids, a 50+ hour a week job, a blog, three other dogs, and now Layla. So I have my own time restrictions. It is just like anything though, if it is a priority to you , you will make the time. Here are some tips to finding more time with your puppy.

First of all, we are not talking about hours a day, in my opinion, thirty minutes of concentrated time with your dog will go a long way in the long run.

Get up a little earlier than the rest of your household on the weekends. My family sleeps in to around eight in the morning, so I’ve found getting up around seven is a great time to train. Layla is raring to go in the mornings and having a good hour before everyone is up to spend with her is priceless. I might mention that having a good plan on what you want to work on is vital to making the most of the time you have.

On days that I work, getting up earlier is not an option seeing how I’m off to work at 5:00 A.M., so I make the time as soon as I get home. I greet the family and Layla and we go outside for twenty to thirty minutes to train. My kids and wife usually come out with us so the training isn’t as focused but better than nothing.

Making the training a family affair really helps. If everyone gets to see Layla’s progress then it is easier for them to understand what it is I am doing. The kids are great with her, but it is as important to train them on how to interact with her as her with them. By teaching them to use the same commands and not letting them gorge her with treats, I have four extra trainers.

Layla is already making huge progress in becoming a well minded hunting dog. By following these simple steps, I’ve been able to find time in a very busy schedule and if I (the worst at budgeting time) can do it, so can you.

Dogs are like anything, the more time you put in to them, the more reward you get out of them. When you step out into the field, having put the training time in, and your dog is head and shoulders above the others around, you will have a sense of pride so big your hat won’t fit on your head.

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