16 Bře Training Volume – The Complex Equation
I have trained with hundreds of handlers over the years. Everyone is different, and everyone is thinking about training in a unique way. Some have more time to devote to obedience, some have less. Some are super motivated, some are much more relaxed. Some have just one dog, others have two, or—God bless—even more.
2 Regular Types and 1 Mystical Type of Dog Handler
Regardless of each handler’s personal and unique preferences, I have found that there are generally two types of handlers as well as potentially a third, elusive, mythical, not-yet-seen type in the mix.
- Handlers who tend to overtrain their dogs and need to be told to slow down from time to time.
- Handlers who tend to not train their dogs often enough and need to be motivated to step up their game.
- The creature of legend: the handler who perfectly gauges how much training their dog needs and adjusts it continuously based on various factors.
The volume of training is obviously a pretty critical aspect of your entire program and system. The problem is that everyone has very different ideas about the correct amount of training.
I always remember this one client who had problems teaching his dog to hold the dumbbell properly. I told him not to train this too often as his dog wasn’t particularly fond of the exercise and too much training volume was detrimental.
My mistake was that I didn’t specify the appropriate amount of volume. I was thinking something like every other day or 2-3 times per week. This client came back to me in two weeks, and his dog was pretty much disgusted with the dumbbell, refusing to even touch it. As I inquired about what happened, the client told me matter-of-factly: “Well, you said I shouldn’t do it too often, so I only did it like three times a day.”
Fortunately, we were able to fix that issue, and this dog has been successful at various trials and holds the dumbbell just fine now. However, this story is a good example of just how incredibly varied the views on training volume can be between handlers. This client of mine took training very seriously and considered it normal to train multiple times per day.
Factors Influencing Training Volume
How often, how long, and how intensely you train can definitely influence the performance and enjoyment of your dog for better or worse. Getting the balance between training and relaxation just right can be very tricky as it is influenced by so many different factors:
- Age and experience of the dog: My beloved Finka happily trained 4 times a week at age 3. At age 7, before her final competition, even once a week was pushing it; more like once every ten days was ideal. She still enjoyed training, but too much too often caused her to develop some issues and problems during training.She would lose motivation, make more mistakes, and generally not really benefit from the sessions.
- Seasons and/or weather: Most dogs don’t appreciate as much training volume in the summer when it is searing hot, but they can do much more when the weather is colder in the spring or fall. I am preparing an article on the topic of training in adverse weather conditions, so stay tuned for more information on that particular issue.
- Just obedience or doing other sports as well: If your dog only does obedience, you can usually train more often compared to when you also have to add in some tracking, protection, or other dogsports.
- Heat cycle: The heat cycle in female dogs can sometimes greatly influence their ability and willingness to train. With male dogs, this can be an issue too—especially in the spring when seemingly every female dog around is now so much more attractive than some dumb heeling exercise. Under such conditions, it is usually wise to lower the training volume for a while before everything gets back to normal.
- Long-term, intensive training: While it is indeed possible to increase the training volume when necessary for a short time (preparing for a trial perhaps, although that’s usually not a good idea), if you overdo this, your dog may burn out just like an overworked human would. In that case, you would have to significantly reduce the training load or give him an overall break in general. More on the dangers of working your dog too hard can be found here.
- Breed and temperament: This is obviously a huge factor. My crazy malinois Archer could train all day, every day (probably) and would surely drive me crazy without even breaking a sweat. A more grounded and sane dog likely wouldn’t enjoy that at all, though.
- Level of training: Usually, when your dog is at the beginner level, everything is very easy. The first steps of the exercises are easy to comprehend, and they should be very enjoyable for the dog. Later, when he is more advanced, training can be much more intense and difficult, making it wise to reduce the volume to accomodate the increased difficulty level.
- Health issues: Obviously, if your dog has any health conditions that could impact his training, you have to be very careful and consult with your vet about it. A dog with a minor heart condition might be totally fine training once or twice a week but could have severe problems when overworked or when worked on a hot day, for example.
- And on and on… There are an unending number of variables and factors that come into play. Some may be even unique to your dog and/or situation. This list should give you the most prominent ones, but think about what else could be important for you and your dog when it comes to managing your amount of training volume.
As you can see, there are many things to consider, and a sizeable portion of them are not even stable. Seasons change, dogs age, training levels rise, and you have to be constantly adjusting for those factors.
Please keep this in mind when devising your master training plan. Be mindful and you can surely become the mythical, god-like handler who perfectly adjusts the training volume for their dog.