You just don’t have the time to train your dog but you want a well trained dog?

If you want the dog on the bottom of this image, take just a few minutes every day to train her and you’ll have that dog. I’m sorry to say but there is no magic pill. You DO need to make the time.

When I hear people say they don’t have time to train their dog, I always wonder why they bother to get a dog. Having a well behaved dog doesn’t come without the work yet the work needn’t be time consuming. In fact, training a dog should take less than an hour a day and is one of the best most fun ways to connect with your dog. Training is more than just commands, it’s playing while teaching. Every interaction you have with your dog is a training session. Either you are training your pup or she is training you. If you think about how much time you spend frustrated with your dog you’ll realize that putting this time in will be well worth it.

I recommend spending 3-6 short training sessions a day for 5 min max, the first couple of weeks, gradually adding time in increments while adding distractions. Keep training sessions under 15 minutes even as adults yet make the challenges more interesting with distractions and new places, faces, games, etc. When you have the basics then training becomes part of your lifestyle as you’ll use cues sporadically throughout your day, keeping your dog safe while having a blast. Who could ask for more.

Who doesn’t have 30 minutes a day broken up into 6 sessions a day to spend with their pup/dog in obedience? This coupled with 2 wipeout sessions a day playing fetch, swimming, hiking, dog play time, etc. will be all your dog needs to be happy and healthy when starting out. You’re stimulating their mind and body in short training sessions and that’s about all a puppy can handle anyway. You are creating a relationship where setting boundaries while teaching what’s expected of them is fun and easy, not monotonous.

Both of your lives will be more fulfilling and joyful.

Anyone can have a well mannered adult dog if you put the time into a pup before they are 6 months old. Reinforcement is all that needs to be done as they mature and you’ll have the dog you’ve always wanted. The goal is to have a spoiled rotten, disciplined dog. This why we got a dog in the first place, right? Now go ahead…. start training.