TYD Month

January 2010 saw the launch of (US)APDT’s Train Your Dog Month - Pet Central took part too by blogging a training-plan-a-day for the month of January

APDT is holding another Train Your Dog Month for January 2011 and out training plans are still available for all those with dog training related New Year’s resolutions!

Don’t worry if you miss some exercises or even some days – you will be able to catch up.  And of course the program will be available for you to continue with in your own time.  At the end we will give you some exercises and other resources to work on with so that this year will become the year for you and your K9 companion.

Obviously this will be general so remember that your dog is an individual.  Puppies will need intensive but gentle socialisation built into their training plans as well as things like toilet training so please don’t forget about those.
Check out DogStar Daily for excellent puppy (and adult) training and socialisation resources.

Prepare for Train Your Dog Month:

It all starts on New Year’s Day but this can be a tough day; afterall most new years resolutions are doomed to failure, lets at least get past day 1!

New Year’s Day is a day for lazing around and often recovering from too much fun the night before so in preparation have plenty of yummy stuffed Kong toys in the freezer ready to occupy lively pups.  Think of all that left over turkey – perfect for adding to Kongs!

In fact, as part of training programs I usually recommend that pet owners ditch the dog bowls and always keep stuffed Kongs at hand.  Any food that your dog doesn’t get for good behaviour can be fed from a Kong during down times or alone times.

Exercise your dog early on New Year’s Eve so as to avoid being out and about in case of fireworks and festivities and so that your dog is nice and tired during the evenings celebrations.
Check out Casey Lomonaco’s guide to holiday success for dog owners.

Kong Stuffing:

A big part of keeping your dog happy is keeping him occupied!  The best and simplest way of doing this is to have him work for his food – this will encourage him to think, to get active and keep him busy so he doesn’t have too much time on his paws to fill with chewing, digging, barking…

I tend to use the dog’s regular food with a few yummies thrown in for training.  Any food that won’t be given as rewards for good behaviour can then be stuffed into Kongs or used in other enrichment devices to give to the dog when you want him to spend time alone or to entertain himself.

The easiest thing to do is to measure out your dog’s regular kibble, mix with a little low-fat yoghurt or cottage cheese, stuff in a Kong and freeze – yummmmmm!

You can stuff a lovely tantalising treat in the gap at the top and bottom to really get your dog working.  Think of all that turkey in the fridge that you can no longer bear to look at!!

Here are some excellent Kong stuffing recipes if you want to really treat your dog.

I always have a variety of enrichment toys to hand and rotate them so that they are still a novelty and a challenge for my smart dog.

Ditch the doggie dishes and make dinner time fun for your dog!

 Training Mix:

Cut up some of your dog’s favourite treats such as hotdogs, chicken, turkey, ham, cheese, Cheerios cereal etc. – anything that your dog thinks is really yummy.

Add your dog’s daily ration of regular kibble (slightly reduced because you have added some yummies) and mix in a ZipLoc bag.  Store in the fridge and allow the smells mix so kibble becomes extra attractive to your dog.

Make sure that the treats are teeny tiny, soft and really tasty – this means that they will be eaten quickly and the dog won’t fill up and get sick of them.

Pet Central’s Plan for Train Your Dog Month:

Did you know that you can train your dog while you wait for the kettle to boil for your cup of tea, or during the ad break of your favourite TV show?  We are going to work on the essential basic exercises and teach them within your and your dog’s daily life.

I will include links to resources that give step by step instruction on teaching each exercise for you to use where required.

We will work on each exercise right from the beginning through to adding distraction, getting rid of lures and starting to wean off food rewards.

Each day will give step by step for the days’ exercises, how to build training in to everyday goings on, how to get the entire family (and friends) involved, tools needed and training locations.

The most important part is to have fun with your family, dog included – dog training should not be a chore for dog or for trainer.  Dog training should be part of your every day activities and should involve the entire family.

That’s what Train Your Dog Month is all about  – so let’s get ready with our new training resolution on Day 1.

Happy Training!

Training-Plan-A-Day:

Training Tips for Train Your Dog Month

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27

Day 28

Day 29

Day 30

last but not least…Day 31

Remember, your dog is an individual and not every exercise will suit him – if your dog has any behaviour issues or if you would like advice please contact us and we will help you as much as we can; that might involve advice, offering services or finding a suitable trainer near you.

Training is not just for Train Your Dog Month:

Train Your Dog Month might be over but we are devoted to training dogs 12 months of the year so here are some follow ups to progress the exercises started during Train Your Dog Month; let’s get started!

Training is not just for TYD Month, training is for life

Training is for Life – follow up 1

Training is for Life – follow up 2

Training is for Life – follow up 3

Training is for Life – follow up 4

Comments from the original posting:

  1.  alyth  |  March 26, 2010 at 6:39 pm