I've been trying to train Blake in a few things and there's so much more I would like to teach him! What I'm wondering then is, do I have to wait until he's "mastered" a behaviour before moving on to new things that I want to teach him or can I combine several things into a training session? Is there a "preferred limit" to how many things I can teach per session? If I am able to have several things to teach, how long do I focus on one thing before moving on? I find that he gets bored when I've done something too many times and that doesn't necessarily mean he's picked up on what I was trying to teach him but to continue would mean an aggravated dog because he's just that bored or uninterested. Would it be okay to move on to something else at this point even if he hasn't learned what I wanted him to learn?
I think that's all for now! I'm really enjoying all of this and I just ordered a bunch of books from the store so gotta wait until they get here! :)
That is wonderful, clicker
That is wonderful, clicker training can be so much fun!
As far as Blake getting bored, remember to keep the training sessions short five to ten minutes max. Always end on a positive note and stop as soon as you are making progress. He obviously may not learn a behavior all in one session. Lets say you are working on stay, and all of a sudden you are able to step back one step and he doesn't move. Jackpot! End session.
It is of my opinion that you can teach more then one behavior at once. However, if your dog gets really confused, go back to only training one behavior at a time.