Study: More Isn't Better For Training Your Dog

[AbbyK9]

Interesting reading.

Give Buddy a Break: More Isn’t Better for Training Your Dog | Wired Science | Wired.com

Dog owners teaching their pooches to sit, come when called, and stop the shoe-chewing are better off giving their dogs breaks, rather than daily drills.


Beagles trained once or twice a week for a short period learn more between sessions than those taught every day in long lessons. The results are partly based on the brain’s need to consolidate and cement what learns during sleep, says animal behavior researcher Helle Demant of the University of Copenhagen.


“It’s an important study for setting the right expectations for owners and some trainers,” said James Ha, a certified applied animal behaviorist in Seattle, not associated with the research team. “This is a very clear example that learning takes time. The brain needs to process what it has received.”

[kiya]

Very interesting indeed. My trainer told me to do no training with Lakota 2 weeks ago. She's about 18 months old and has selective obedience in class, she is distracted easily. I think she's probably been to 25 group classes with a long break between the winter & finally getting spayed. It seems if I only do 1 or 2 repititions she's perfect, anything after that she's bored and doesn't "comply". So this week I just started doing a simple quick routine asking her to do things only 1x. I noticed this when I was asking her to take the dumbell. The more I did the less she wanted to take it.

[fuzzybunny]

The only training I did with my two was the 1 hour a week we did at class and they are both pretty obedient.

[Jax08]

I've heard that before. My trainer tells me that when training something new, stop when she gets something right with a big hurray for her and let her think about it until the next day or later.

[selzer]

I do not admit it much, but the only training I do with my dogs is during class, once a week, for whoever is currently in classes.

I do not expect my dogs to be finished in six or eight weeks. I just go on, slow and steady, and on, and on, and on.

The interesting thing is that oftentimes, (not always), mine do better than the people who profess that they work with their dogs every day. I am not surprised with the study.

[AbbyK9]

My two cents ...

I like to work in little increments, such as five or ten minute sessions, when I am working on something new. I always start out and end with something she knows well (like sit or down) and throw in stuff she knows well when it looks like she may be getting stuck to boost her confidence before trying on the command she got "stuck" again, breaking it down into smaller portions or going back a step.

[Jax08]

Sue, do you think that is because you aren't stressing your dogs?

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by Jax08

Sue, do you think that is because you aren't stressing your dogs?

I'm not Sue but here's my 2 cents . I think (a) you're not stressing the dogs and (b) training can be naturally incorporated into daily activities instead of doing formal sessions.

[TMarie]

Interesting article!

We train 3 days a week, always have. It doesn't matter which dog we are working with, Shepherd or Aussie, if we ever trained more then 3 days, they tend to not do as well. For instance, we know many people that will increase their training a couple weeks before competing in a trial. We don't do that. The few times we did, we found that the dogs tended to zone out more, or just not be as *up* on trial day. So we just keep our same training routine, regardless if we are getting ready for a trial or not.

Originally Posted by AbbyK9

My two cents ...

I like to work in little increments, such as five or ten minute sessions, when I am working on something new. I always start out and end with something she knows well (like sit or down) and throw in stuff she knows well when it looks like she may be getting stuck to boost her confidence before trying on the command she got "stuck" again, breaking it down into smaller portions or going back a step.

We do this on the days we are not doing a full hour or so's worth of training.

[selzer]

If I tried to train every one of them, every day, that would be stressing them. After the third dog, I would probably be tying them to the fence with zip-ties. No, that isn't even funny.

I think that I am not pulling my high energy hunting dog out of a crate after being in it all night a pee break and then all day while the owners are working, and then rushing off to class with the dog. I think mine basically work off more energy at home and are not full of pent up energy when we are out there.

But I don't know whether this is not stressing them or not. I mean, some people have their dogs out and around other people and dogs every day, and I do not. So they are probably a little more stressed in classes than those dogs. But since I generally take them through six to eight sets of classes in their first year, they get pretty used to seeing other dogs and people, and do not have a problem with it when I take them to shows.

Joy went to:
puppy 6 weeks
puppy 6 weeks
basic 6 weeks
advanced 6 weeks
agility 6 weeks
cgc 6 weeks
rally 6 weeks
conformation 3 weeks
advanced 6 weeks

between 10 weeks and 17 months. That is 51 weeks of classes out of about 63 weeks. I missed about six classes with her for being in heat twice, so about 45 altogether. I took her to her first show last year in Cleveland at Christmas time, signed her up for four days, and finished in three with a 92, 93, and 94. Not wonderful, not bad. She was not stressed at all.

Unless you are thinking I should be stressing them, pushing them to figure out thresholds or whatever. I am looking only for a great dog with people or other dogs, not a dog that will go for a bite sleeve -- that is just something I am not into. I do intend to try her on sheep when I can find that in the neighborhood (puppy match maybe, herding fun day). She does not have a problem with thunder or gun shots, I could probably get a TT on her without a problem. I am considering TDI with her as well.

Bear and Dolly went into heat this week, so Heidi and Joy will take their places in class. Heidi because I need two legs for her RE and there is a show in August. Joy because I have not had her out in a while.