Winter Dog Training in Rural Areas

Not everyone has the good fortune to live near an inside canine training facility. The lack of a warm, dry training venue poses a significant challenge for individuals wanting to train their furry friend over the winter but not in snowy, icy or windy conditions.

This year, our informal, rural training group lost its inside practice area when one of its members moved out of state. Where would our group train? That question caused me to consider alternative venues. Here are some possible indoor options:

• Does a friend have an arena, preferably heated, or a garage, large enough to practice a few exercises, that your group can use?
• Does a friend have office space that might work for training dogs?
• Do you know the owner of a warehouse or similar building that has sufficient space to practice around any obstacles?
• Do you have any connections with private schools that might permit dog training on any large carpeted areas?
• Do any of your dog friends have a sizable inside space such as in a barn, outbuilding or even an area in their house?

On clear, warmer days, a paved or non-muddy dirt driveway might serve as a training area if free of ice and snow. If so, invite some of your pals over for a practice as long as the winds aren’t howling. It’s always good to train at different locations!

If you can’t locate a good group training venue, look for opportunities to work Fido on an individual basis. Volunteer to teach a basic obedience class at a local recreation center or school. Negotiate some time for you to train your dog before or after the class. Or use your canine to demonstrate some exercises to the class.

Consider volunteering for community programs such as Paws for Reading in elementary schools or Reading to Rover in public libraries. Participating in these programs is a great way to build youngsters’ confidence and reading abilities while you work on Fido’s socialization and concentration skills.

Some stores in rural areas, such as Murdoch’s Range and Home Supply, and the Tractor Supply Store, allow dogs on leashes inside their stores. Take advantage of these opportunities to practice heeling, attention and stays.

Don’t overlook your home for other possibilities.

• Is there an area that you can shut off from other household dogs and still have room to work? You probably have space for sits and downs, and some stands.
• A long hallway works well for recalls and drop on recalls.
• Heeling next to the walls of a hallway may help correct wide heeling and/or crooked sits.

We use the unfinished part of our basement primarily as a storage area. But Dave also plays his drums there.

About a month ago, he decided to try to improve the room’s acoustics. First, he stacked some empty-but-must-be-saved-boxes along one wall with spare speakers, a couple of odd cushions and lawn furniture. Then he put down carpet remnants and mover blankets on the unfinished floor in front of those items, and placed a row of unused drums on the padding. About fifteen feet across the room, he stacked boxes on shelves. More blankets and carpet remnants went down between the storage shelves and the row of unused drums. Finally, he arranged his drum sets in front of the shelves which left about an eight-foot-wide padded area between the drum sets and the line of drums. My favorite rug from Arizona was placed in the middle.

Quite the project, I thought, as Dave showed off the new, improved room.

Then it hit me. Wow! I could use the padded area to train Ranger!

The area works for recalls, drop on recalls, stays and some retrieving. I’ve only managed to throw a dumbbell once into a drum, and of course that happened in Dave’s presence!

This space gives me a chance to practice Ranger’s stay when I throw a dumbbell and straight sits when he returns. And, sometimes he needs to search for the dumbbell under lawn furniture when my throw isn’t perfect.

I recently set up the high jump, with only one horizontal panel attached, in the center of the Arizona rug, which sits on top of a mover blanket. Ranger now practices retrieving over the jump, purposely set low, because of the lack of really thick padding that a mat would offer. Once the ground thaws, I’ll see how well this inside work transfers outside for a retrieve over a higher jump.

The length of our basement hallway, carpeted with a reasonably thick carpet pad, into a carpeted spare guest room, is about thirty-six feet. It’s a narrow but workable space for heeling and recalls. The broad jump barely fits into that bedroom, but at least it’s possible.

Smaller spaces work for practicing stays as well sit, down, stand, holding a dumbbell (but not throwing) and come fronts. Many of the rally exercises, at all levels, can be practiced one at a time in small areas of your home.

Winter just may be an excellent time for Fido to learn new exercises, sans jumping. So, take a close look at your house and figure out what might work.

When our local park is free of snow, ice and mud, our group trains there but usually only in unseasonably warm temperatures. That’s a real treat when the opportunity arises! (See related post:  https://www.caryunkelbach.com/training-dogs-in-rural-areas/ )

Have fun training this winter and early spring in unusual or even unlikely places!