Bird Dogs & Training  |  03/16/2014

Give 'em a break too


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Mondays may not be your favorite day of the week but you are refreshed, reinvigorated and ready to face the work week. Conversely, if you worked all weekend you’re probably not at the top of your game when you clock in again on Monday morning.
 
My dogs are the same, they need a break from training once in a while. There’s only so much undivided attention I can expect. So I give them a “weekend” too.
 
Some days, we just play. Explore new places. Or hunt. We go back to the easy stuff on the training agenda. Or practice old skills in new places. What we don’t do is focus on acquiring new skills.
 
After a few days of introductory work, I let the newest bits of knowledge sink in, so to speak, without burning him out. This way dogs – and their handler – enjoy a no-stress holiday that makes the next intense training session more productive.
 
It’s kind of like when we put on our sweatpants and watch football all day. We still know where the fridge is and how to open it, but its second nature and doesn’t require much concentration … until we can’t figure out where our wife hid the beer!