Training Sessions time limit

[ChocolateLab121221]

Hello

What is a good amount of time to spend in one session for an 11-12 week old lab puppy? I have been using 5-7 mins then 1 hour break and repeat. Curious what others are using?

Thanks
Brad

[kimbersmom]

Depending on the pup, 5-7 minutes could be long or just right. I could always tell when our pup's brain was getting full. She would improve and improve and maybe get it and then start to backslide. As soon as things began going south, I'd back up a step or move back to something she mastered so we'd end on a positive note.

In general throughout the day, I'd grab a handful of kibble and do some training, mixed in with lots of play and unstructured exercise.

Be sure and pick up Toby lots and kiss his head- it's astonishing how fast they get to be too big for that!

[barry581]

My pup is now 5 1/2 months old, and I rarely do more than 5 minutes at a time. We will usually do two structured training sessions per day until 6-7 months of age when the real training starts. I firmly believe is letting puppies be puppies, that is everything is going to be as much fun for the puppy as I can make it, while still teaching them basic manners and obedience.

[smartrock]

Hi to you and Toby! You didn't mention what sort of training you're doing right now- do you mean things like sit, down, stay, wait, or something more? For young puppies, informal training kind of happens periodically all day. Is it time for a meal? Help the puppy learn to sit before you put the food bowl down. Pups learn how to sit pretty quickly. Once they learn sit, moving to a "down" is pretty easy. You can save some of his daily allotment of kibble to use as training treats. Look for opportunities to practice the new skill throughout the day.

If your puppy is one of those land shark lab puppies, there is a sticky thread posted somewhere on here with some ideas on working with that. Our first lab bit us up like crazy but we didn't have any other dogs when we got him. Our second one did most of her biting on the older one, who never corrected her for her vampire-like attacks, and our youngest one was never much of a biter. I had clothes that I specifically called my dog clothes, my dog sweatshirt, my dog pants, because they ended up with so many holes from our first lab puppy. And he was our 6th dog over our lives of having dogs, but definitely the most mouthy.

At some point after he's had the majority of his shots, maybe you can sign him up for some obedience classes, if they're holding them in your area. Even though we've had several dogs, I pretty much always take each one to at least one round of obedience classes, just to try to make me be a little more focused about it. The last puppy I took the instructors said they usually didn't take pups until they were 6 months old, although I somehow managed to sneak Henry in younger than that. Some places do offer classes for younger puppies, too.

He's a super cute little guy!

[Snowshoe]

Training has been addressed so I will just suggest you check out Barry's Rose and the tractor posts. He uses the tractor as a growth chart, an idea to copy maybe? They grow so fast, it's nice to show it, meaning us here on the board, with photos.

[LuvLabs]

Highly depends on the puppy. If they are checking out, it's probably too long. Set a timer for a minute. Then try two. Then three. Etc. Until you find your sweet spot. For repeating exercises, some dogs can do three before they are bored and you either need to move onto something else or do something harder. As for how many times a day, it depends on the puppy. I think two or three is good, but if you can only do one, that's OK, too.

I do a lot of the hard stuff early, like 10 weeks, but it's all games. I get them started on casting with running to a dog bed for treats, and we start scent discrimination by imprinting scent (which involves eating near the scent). So, by the time my puppies are like six months old they essentially know many utility obedience and higher level field work moves, just at a puppy level and as a fun game. There's so much you can do with baby puppies and it helps them learn to learn and love to learn. It's great for bonding as well.