Baby It's Cold Outside! Training for a bad-weather day.

Your dog is climbing the walls needing something to do. You know you should go out and train. It won't be that long before the next trial season begins. But it's hard to get motivated to go out and train, or sometimes even to pack up and go to one of the indoor training arenas. So you go back to the computer or to the TV and think, "I'll just train another day."

We've all been there, haven't we? But instead of avoiding training, why not do some indoor games? You don't really need a lot of room to train attention, hand skills, games, tricks and the like. When we are in class and these topics come up, they get mentioned, but it is difficult to use the large classroom for such small skills. The thing is though, those small skills pay huge dividends! So the bitter cold in the wintertime and the scorching heat in the summertime becomes my times of year to work on these important smaller skills.

Here's a list of a few of the skills I work on during inclement weather:

Impulse Control
Cookies from the floor
Cookies from the hand
Cookies on dog's nose
Stays, then driving to cookies or toys

Tight circles around upright objects (I use a wreath hanger, waste basket, 6 inch pvc tube set on end)
Go both directions (give them different names)
Drive from a distance to tight wraps

Come to hand (and line up) from all directions. Do both right & left sides.

Sit, Down, Stand, Back Up, Spins in both directions.

Speak, Wave, Roll over, Play dead.

Say a prayer.

Sneeze.

Stand on hind legs, walk forward, walk backward all on hind legs.

Handstands
Walk forward in handstand

Beg, Stand up from beg, Sit back down again, all in beg position.

2 On, 2 Off, variety of objects
Travel plank
Low footstool
Small cooler
Bosu Ball

Crate games.

Run to and lie down on low dog bed or cushion. Add the stay.

Set up and sit between legs.

Switch sides with outside turn.

Hide and seek. Find the hidden toy.

I'm sure you can also make up your own games. Sylvia Trkman I believe has a DVD dealing with trick training. Remember, you are looking for behaviors that are crisp and fast with a ton of attitude. Start easy, then make them harder. Use your clicker and observe the rules of operant conditioning. Do not constantly lure the dog. Let the dog earn the rewards!

I like how Jenifer Loesing does her trick training using 10 cookies. She uses her 10 cookies to reward one or two tricks, then training is over for that session. This is particularly valuable in not running the training into the ground, thereby boring or stressing the dog. It gives you a place to quit training which can be as valuable as the training itself. You should always leave the dog wanting more. You can do several sessions in a day if you'd like, just don't bang away at training for long periods of time.