Give Me a Break!

Taking a Break 

Is it worth it to take training breaks? Or change the focus of training? I think so, especially if there is an area the your dog is struggling with. 

Why Take a Break

You may wonder why a break might be necessary. The answer is both simple and complex. The most common reasons can be the dog not being ready for what is being asked and being overwhelmed by the tasks being asked. 

A blue Standard Poodle enjoying a creek.

When to Take a Break

It's important to look at what is being accomplished with training. If there are no gains, and learning has stagnated, it's time to look at what is happening. This is especially true if there are multiple things trained. It is easy to become overwhelmed at the amount of learning we ask of our dogs. 

A blue Standard Poodle sleeping on a bed

How to Take a Break

I rarely stop all training, unless my dog is sick and working with him just isn't reasonable. I do maintenance training by requesting the usual things he knows well, keeping tasks current and simple, keeping up obedience, but lessening the demands of going out for public access, not pushing new tasks forward, and not maybe even holding off on them. 

Returning from a Break

Once I feel my dog is back into his routine, acting more willing to learn, initiating tasks on his own, I reintroduce my training and evaluate the tasks he was learning before the break to see if  his brain is ready for retrying those tasks or if we should look at other things to work on. 

A blue Standard Poodle laying on a bed

Increasing Time Between Breaks

To increase time between absolute breaks, look for things your dog loves to do. Nick loves sniffing and finding things like most dogs. I try to give him time daily for some sniffing, either something I hide in the house, or just to catch up on the peemail. He also likes playing in water and seeing his friends, again, this is something I try to offer frequently. Lick mats, long lasting chews, and rewarding for being quiet on a bed or, sometimes just being allow to sleep when there's an available service human.