Daily Training Schedule

This post goes hand in hand with a previous post on NILIF. It is surprising how simple, yet effective, dog training can be at times. This is my typical schedule that I keep my dogs on to keep them physically and mentally exercised and obedient. Making your dog do a little work for everyday things, and taking a few minutes each day to practice simple obedience skills can make a huge difference in your dog's behavior.
6:00 AM - Dogs have to do a down-stay for two minutes before they get to eat.
7:00 AM - We go for a half-hour walk. The dogs must do a sit-stay while I prepare leashes. They also must let me exit the door/gate first and wait for the release command to follow me.
8:00-4:00 - The dogs are locked to one room of the house with access to the yard during week days. During weekends I use this time for any formal training or more exercise.
4:00 - Fetch. During this time I practice recall, stay, heeling and a few other random tricks to keep my dogs fresh on the important commands. Fetch is a great reward for dogs with a high drive for the game.
4:30 -Hour walk, again the dogs must sit-stay while leashes are prepared.
5:00 - Another two minute sit-stay is performed before the dogs can eat.

As you can see, this schedule is extremely simple, and besides the walks (which should be provided for your dog, training or no training) it takes very little time and effort. But this, along with a strict NILIF program, keeps my dogs in check and obedient.