Private training
The written weekly plan after a private session
An hour of coaching is a start, and home practice is what carries it into the rest of the week. That is what the written weekly plan is for. After each Private Training session, we write it around your home, your schedule and your dog, so the days between sessions have a shape. This page explains how we think about reading it, fitting it into an ordinary week and reporting back.
Last reviewed September 29, 2026
Reading the plan
A translation of the session into a Tuesday night.
We write the plan as a translation of the session into things that can happen on an ordinary evening. What goes on it varies with the dog and the household. Examples include the exercise, a suggested setting such as the hallway or the front step, the level being held, say a sit that lasts while someone walks past with a plate, and, where it is useful, a rough count of short daily reps. The level line is the part we would read first.
In our experience the plan works best attached to things that already happen: a few reps before the food bowl goes down, a short place drill while the kettle boils, one leash exercise on the way to the mailbox. Short, frequent practice tends to suit many dogs' attention better than one long weekend effort, and the habit being built is repetition rather than endurance. We write the plan with that shape in mind, so a chaotic week still has room for it.
- Level line read first
- Reps attached to existing routines
- Short practice, most days
- Ending while the dog is winning
Between sessions
The notes that make the next hour count.
Three notes are worth more to us than a week of impressions: what held, what fell apart, and where. A line like: held in the kitchen, broke at the front door when the neighbour's dog went by, tells us exactly what to build the next hour on. Time of day, who had the leash and whether the reward was food or a toy are useful too. With that in hand, the session is spent adjusting rather than guessing.
When a step stalls, we would rather drop back a line than push through. A dog who cannot hold place while the front door is open, even with the leash held, can often manage it with the door shut, and that is where the reps belong until the easier version looks boring. The stall goes in the notes. If the same step keeps stalling, that is a reason to reassess together, and the consultation is where a different program is recommended when one fits.
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
What is a dog training homework plan?
It is the written page that comes home after a private session, customized to the house and the week. Ours is built around the dog in front of us; it might list an exercise, a setting, the level to hold and a rough number of short reps, but the contents depend on what the session covered.
How do you stick to a weekly dog training plan when the week is chaotic?
We suggest attaching the reps to things that already happen: before meals, at the door before walks, during the ad break. Short practice on most days tends to hold up better than one long weekend push, so a busy week is not a lost one.
What should you practise between dog training sessions?
What is on the plan, at the level written there. Adding new distractions or new commands before the current step is solid tends to muddy the next session. If a step stalls, the easier version gets the reps and the stall goes in the notes.
What if the plan is not working at home?
We would drop back to the last step that held, run that until it is solid, and bring the stall to the next session so the hour goes into adjusting it. If the same step keeps stalling plan after plan, that is a reason to reassess together, and we will say honestly if a different program fits better.
Keep reading
Leave with a written plan.
Book a consultation and we will tell you honestly whether a private session and a weekly plan is the right starting point.
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