There are different methods of being consistent in dog training. One aspect is having a regular training schedule. I have an extremely difficult time staying consistent in my personal life. My day job sometimes takes all I have to give and then some and I have been struggling with health issues for a while. There is not always a lot left over. My ideal situation used to be to give all 3 dogs full daily sessions with me. However, sometimes things are just too busy and I can't take a long enough break to get them all out for a longer training session even while working from home.
Instead of constantly struggling and feeling bad when I had a day I couldn't spare the time, I changed things up. I started rotating the dogs and having a dog of the day for training. Now instead of needing 30-60 minutes of time which I often could not find, I have a schedule and rotate which dog gets the more in depth session on any given day. 10-20 minutes of time in a day is a lot easier to find. I'm finding that because I need to find less time, I am a lot more consistent which is better for all of us. The dogs all are getting their sessions a lot more regularly then when I only did training when I could find the longer blocks of time to train all 3 at one time. It has better to break things down and focus on one dog in a day, rather then trying to fit the longer sessions with all 3 of them in the same day.
I am also finding other opportunities to incorporate different types of sessions with the
dogs. For example, by switching some of my exercise routines from indoors to instead going to the park, I can again rotate dogs and work on heeling and other exercises with them while I get my steps in. Since I have 3 dogs and it would not be fair to let 1 go to the park, but not the others, I find it is pushing me more to make sure I go 3 times a week. All the dogs get their turn and it forces me to get there 3x a week.
There are other little things we do as well during the week. We have short training sessions at meal times. Now and then I'll grab treats and ask them to show me a trick as well. There are ways even in busy lives to make time for your dog. You just have to sometimes think outside the box. If something isn't working change it up. Find a way to get time in with your dogs. You will be glad you did. My day always goes so much better when I've successfully made time to spend with my dogs.
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