HOW SHOULD I SCHEDULE TRAINING?
Now that you know what type of training you want to do (under which situations), it's time to determine how you will make that training last? How to you reinforce or dissuade behavior? How do you make sure Koda doesn't forget to go outside when he needs to go to the bathroom?
HOW SHOULD I SCHEDULE TRAINING?
Now that you know what type of training you want to do (under which situations), it's time to determine how you will make that training last? How do you schedule your training in the first place? How do you make sure Koda doesn't forget to go outside when he needs to go to the bathroom?
HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO TRAIN MY DOG?
Training is not only about the method you use to train, but also about the schedule in which you train (Demant, Ladewig, Balsby, Dabelsteen, 2011).
​
According to research from Demant, Ladewig, Balsby, and Dabelsteen (2011) and Meyer and Ladewig (2008) that is detailed below, spacing out training rather that having a lot of training session frequently may be the best way to train your dog.
REALLY? BUT THE MORE PRACTICE, THE BETTER, RIGHT?
More practice is good yes, but again it depends on the timing of that practice.
​
For instance, Demant et al. (2011) examined how best to schedule training young beagles to perform a task. What they found with their four training sessions which varied on either frequency (Daily vs 1-2 times a week) and duration (1 session versus 3 sessions in a row) was that the dogs that were in the 1-2 times a week with 1 session group had significantly better performance over the dogs in the other groups.
​
Additionally, Meyer and Ladewig (2008) found similar results, with weekly trained dogs performing better than those that were trailed five times a week. So, what should you take from these studies?
SO WHAT DO I DO?
Taking into account the research of Demant, Ladewig, Balsby, and Dabelsteen (2011) as well as Meyer and Ladewig (2008), the best advice is to space out the research.
​
This applies whether you are teaching one obedience behavior or attempting to shape a series of behaviors (Demant, Ladewig, Balsby, and Dabelsteen, 2011; Meyet and Ladewig, 2008).
References
Demant, H., Ladewig, J., Balsby, T. J. S., Dabelsteen, T. (2011). The effect of frequency and duration of training sessions on retention and long-term memory in dogs. Applied Animal Behavior Science, 133, 228-234.
​
Meyer, I., Ladewig, J., (2008). The relationship between number of training sessions per week and learning in dogs. Applied Animal Behavior Science, 111, 311-320.