How do I keep board and train training going?

Training survives a busy month when it rides on routines rather than competing with them. Ask for a sit before every meal, a wait at the door before every walk, place while the family eats, one recall to dinner from another room and a loose leash for the first minute of each walk. That adds up to a few minutes a day without a single formal session, and every repetition is paid with something the dog wanted anyway.

The AKC suggests that once a dog knows a behavior, rewards should arrive at random rather than every time, and that life rewards, such as going outside, greeting another dog or a chance to sniff, can stand in for food. Frequency research favors short and spaced over long and crammed: in a Copenhagen study described by the AKC, Beagles trained once a week learned a shaping task in fewer sessions than Beagles trained five days a week, though the daily group finished in fewer days.

Pick your three most-used cues and ask for each five times in three places: the kitchen, the yard and your street. Count first-ask successes. Four or five of five everywhere means the routine is working, so keep it. Strong at home but weak outside means month two belongs to new places, one at a time. Weak everywhere usually means the words, timing or rewards have drifted, and a session with a trainer will find which one.

Help comes in a few sizes. If you did the two-week Advanced program and its second coaching lesson is still ahead, bring the scores to it. Otherwise, private sessions start from $94, Dogtown Academy days at $89 full or $69 half add a training session to a day of play, and Canine Campus runs 2, 4 or 6 weeks of day training with nights at home. On Cape Ann, month two often meets a seasonal test, such as Gloucester's beaches reopening to dogs on October 1.