The Game Plan

As many of you may know already my background is in the training of Dog Sports, primarily in the sports of conformation and agility since the age of 12. Throughout the years I have been able to create a personal training plan that has enabled me to train several dogs at different level as well as different ages. Though simple enough I cannot stress enough how important it is to maintain a proper game plan at home when training a puppy or dog for any sport, as all require a great deal of dedication for an amazing team to blossom fully.

First off lets start with a plan of action. Where should we begin? Well its important to sit down and think about exactly how you would like your training session to go. I always try to set a goal in my mind of what I would like to accomplish within each training session. Once I know what training games would help me reach my particular goal that will go on a quick note sheet. I typically will train in short sessions that keep the dog wanting to continue learning but stop way ahead so as not to create a dog that sees training as boring.

Next off is set up. Having everything in hand or any tools or equipment on deck and ready to go. Why? Well in my experience not having everything you need on hand and ready to go before you have your dog ready to play creates an unsuccessful training session due to the constant interruptions that can happen due to not being thoroughly prepared.

Last but not least in my recipe to a perfect game plan is keeping a training log. Keeping a training log is essential to the growth of a dogs training career. Though it may seem complicated it really is quite simple. In fact we have made it one step easier. Here you can download our training log http://www.universityofdoglando.com/storage/DailyTrainingLog.pdf . Even just a few quick notes with the number of successful repetitions can be enough for some. By knowing exactly where you left off you are able to build and increase success rate on each and every training game which is our goal. Without the notes you are more likely to experience more inconsistency within your training experience which for some can be quite frustrating which is the opposite of what a relationship should be.

My goal when training is not to drill games, its to create a fun learning session that goes as smoothly as possible for both myself and my dogs. This in turn creates an amazing bond between myself and my dogs in which is evident to all. A true communication between a human and dog is bar none one the best gift I have ever experienced.

Billy "