# Training Sessions - How Long?



## Gracie's My Girl (May 27, 2011)

I feel like I have thousands of questions. 

We signed up our 13 week old puppy for classes. I was excited because the trainer works mainly with GSDs and shows them, rehabilitates, and so on. Our first class was tonight. The trainer told us that we needed to do about two training sessions a day that were thirty minutes long each. The class was an hour long and Gracie did not have the attention span. We took frequent breaks and I did not push her. The trainer says that the longer sessions build concentration and that is what she does with all of her dogs. She brought a couple of her GSD puppies that are about the same age as Gracie and they behaved incredibly well. However, I have never heard of having a training session this long with a puppy. I have always kept the sessions very short. We average about three or four minutes and I end on a positive note. Gracie always wants to continue to train and will follow me for a minute or two sitting as she goes. Am I not doing enough?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I am raising a future performance dog (schH, herding and maybe a few other venues for fun) and we only do about 5-10 minute session maybe 2-3 times per day - if that.

I keep them fun, up beat, and always end on a positive note.

I think you have the right idea.


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## Gracie's My Girl (May 27, 2011)

^
Thank you so much for your input. I have been feeling terrible for Gracie this evening because we are not even coming close to the kind of intense session that this trainer is wanting. I have been very worried that because we are not putting in the hour a day, we are going to end up with a dog who does not listen. I would hate for her to fall behind in the class because of this. 

Sometimes, it's not much fun being a new dog owner and worrying so much.


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## GSD84 (Apr 27, 2011)

Gracie's My Girl said:


> ^
> Thank you so much for your input. I have been feeling terrible for Gracie this evening because we are not even coming close to the kind of intense session that this trainer is wanting. I have been very worried that because we are not putting in the hour a day, we are going to end up with a dog who does not listen. I would hate for her to fall behind in the class because of this.
> 
> Sometimes, it's not much fun being a new dog owner and worrying so much.


Let me just say we will be getting our pup in September and I love all your posts, cause they are all questions I will be asking lol. Trying to read up as much as possible


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i always train in sessions. each session last 5 to 10
minutes. during the course of a day we could have 12
sessions. i start training and socialization at 4:00am
or 4:30am. between 4:00 am and 6:15 am i could have
3 sessions, between 9:00am and noon 3 more sessions,
between noon and 5:00 pm 3 more, between 5:00 pm and
11:00 pm 2 or 3 more.

i really don't start training untill my dogs are 4 months
old. before 4 months old my dogs know their names,
crate trained, house broken, good on a leash,
don't snatch food when hand fed and not much
more. then at 4 months it's OB class and things take
off from there. my dogs are in a puppy class at
9, 10, 11 weeks old. i start socializing from day one.


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## GSDElsa (Jul 22, 2009)

I think that's way too long for a puppy. heck, I think that's way too long for an adult. Thisis one of my problems with "pet obedience" classes is that I think they make them drag on way toolong for everyone. Puppies have the attention span of a nat...asking them to stay focused and learn for that long of a stretch at a time is way too much IMO. They are babies!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

GSDElsa said:


> *I think that's way too long for a puppy.* heck, I think that's way too long for an adult. Thisis one of my problems with "pet obedience" classes is that I think they make them drag on way toolong for everyone. Puppies have the attention span of a nat...asking them to stay focused and learn for that long of a stretch at a time is way too much IMO. They are babies!





> The trainer told us that we needed to do about two training sessions a day that were thirty minutes long each.


I agree, that's too much training and too long each day for ME! Now if it included a ton of playtime and out socializing, then that would be different.

The best 'puppy' classes I've found have a mix of learning for the humans, learning for the puppy, and playtime with the humans and breaks. The socialization aspect of classes (and I don't necessarily mean letting the pups run amock playing for an hour, but just being near and around each other) is important.

If I did this engagement training a couple of times a day, bet the timeframe would be ok...


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## mthurston0001 (Jul 12, 2009)

Think of it as Sesame Street for dogs. One reason that show is so successful in keeping kids entertained is it changes every few minutes.


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## RebeccaSierra24 (Jul 25, 2011)

The way I see it is, would you rather the training build concentration or be effective?
Shorter is always better! Even if you train for 5mins play for 5mins and so on


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

We just had a thread about this... a recent study showed that dogs trained in once a week training sessions retained their traning and performed better than dogs that had training sessions every day. Hopefully someone can dig up the link.

And to think, I was beating myself up for not training EVERY day! 

I do believe that for puppies (and even some adults), shorter is better. With my pup, I usually do 5-10 minutes per exercise, less or more as I see how the pup is responding... I always try to leave each session with the pup wanting more & on a positive note, and then pup goes to the crate immediately afterward to let it sink in.

I am not sure if crating afterward is necessary, but I just feel it helps the dog's mind. If you end a training session with an upbeat game of ball, or simply leave the dog to his own devices after a training session, what will they remember best? I guess it's sort of like putting the book under your pillow so the learning will seep in as you sleep.


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