Training Advice for the Chronically Overwhelmed
Let’s be honest—January is just December with fewer cookies and more pressure to “do better.” If you’re already behind on your resolutions, you’re in good company. The secret handshake is just not making eye contact with your to-do list.
Here’s the reality: you don’t need a grand plan, a motivational playlist, or an extra six hours in your day to make real progress with your dog. You just need to start. Right now. Well, I mean keep reading this THEN start...
Aim small, miss small. Five minutes, twice a day, is plenty. Still shaking off the holiday fog? If all you can manage are a couple short, punchy sessions—start there. If your “window” is the time it takes for your coffee to brew—start there.
Your dog isn’t looking for a Broadway show. They want to work, to solve puzzles, and to tap into their natural drives. Scatter their meal in the grass and let them hunt for it. Have them climb, jump, go over, under, or around something weird. Tug, chase, sniff, search—anything that taps into that predatory sequence and makes them think. Or just pick one skill and chip away at it, one honest rep at a time.
Every session is a chance to connect, to problem-solve together, to build that working partnership. Celebrate the wins—even if today’s win is five minutes of full engagement doing something together with no real goal in mind. Perfection is overrated. Just show up, have fun, and make it a game.
And if you’re sitting there thinking, “I have no idea where to start—I don’t even have a training system…” Well, rumor has it there’s an online course company with some semi-decent material. You just have to get past the horse’s ass that’s teaching most of it.
Cheers, happy training, and happy New Year!
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