You’ve all heard the term: “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it”. The same is true for our dogs! Without brush-up practice sessions, our pups can get a bit rusty when it comes to their obedience commands. Repetition and consistency are key in dog training, however we all get bored with the same training drills. Here are some ideas to keep training fresh and fun:
- Take your pup on a field trip: Have you ever noticed your dog performs very well at home, but not so well when out in public? Well, think about where you spend most of your time practicing – in your living room, driveway or backyard. Mix it up!
- Visit parks, shopping centers, hiking trails, pet stores.
- Meet up with some friends and turn your training session into a friendly competition.
- Teach them something new
- Tricks
- Scent Games/Hide & Seek
- Treadmill Training
- Agility
- Flyball
- Incorporate “play training”: turn your training sessions into a game:
- Turn your “recall” into a game of catch me if you can.
- For dogs that love fetch – make them earn a toss of the toy by asking for a few obedience commands first.
Frequent practice sessions will ensure that your dog gets a refresher and all your hard work isn't lost. And changing up your exercises and keeping things fresh will challenge your dog in new ways; this will keep training fun, and keep your dog interested in learning and succeeding.