Because clicker sessions can be five minutes or even less, you can work them into your daily life.

I’m not saying that they have to be that brief, but they can be. So this means you can find ways to work them into your schedule. (Even if the only predictable thing in your life is the unpredictable, you can still find times! Bring your own style to this.)

Here are some examples:

• You stumble out of bed and brush your teeth. Your dog can practice a sit-stay or a down.
• You take the dog out in the yard or for a walk first thing, or maybe you usually just let the dog out. One way or another, you might find a few minutes here.
• You’re making breakfast in the kitchen and doing a few clicks and treats while you wait for water to boil or food to cook.
• You come home from work and ask your dog to sit before you pet him.
• When you go for a walk with the dog, you bring along clickers and treats and do one or several mini-sessions during the walk.
• In the evening, if you are watching TV, you clicker train during commercials.

These are meant to give you ideas. None of them might be right for you. But what would work for you?

I used to teach time management and one of my favorite points was to make a habit of asking, “What’s the best use of my time right now?” That applies to our life with dogs as much as to anything else.