For 2018's Blogging from A to Z Challenge, my main goal was to complete 26 posts to help dog parents find time during the course of their day to train their pup in easy, but consistent bursts.

And I did it. I reached my goal! Check out what I learned from this month-long challenge.

Zeal. Gusto. Passion. 

Remember to find joy while you're working with your dog. Isn't that part of why you wanted a companion?

If you and your pup are enjoying your time together, you'll both be more motivated  to learn and to bond. How could you not be successful?

Do not fixate on what your dog is not learning. Or on a stumbling block that you’re trying to hurdle.

You can't teach every cue all at once, and your dog certainly can't learn everything you want him to learn in one eight-week puppy obedience class.

Focus on the progress you're making from one year to the next. When you take the time to reflect on your dog's behavior from last year and compare it to present behavior, you're going to see improvements.

I'm cheating with my letter X. I know, but working with qualified and knowledgeable dog experts is incredibly important for you and your dog. 

While you'll want to find a veterinarian, groomer, pet sitter, and maybe even a dog walker who work best with your pack, you don't want to overlook the importance of a professional obedience trainer.

Weather, especially inclement weather can work in your favor for training opportunities! Whether you’re taking advantage of the wind, light rain, or thunderstorms, you and your dog can have a blast training during distracting weather conditions.

Training while you're in your veterinarian’s office for regular check-ups creates a winning scenario.

Understanding your dog's body language will make you a more efficient trainer. Be sure to take some time to learn what your dog's trying to communicate through his or her behaviors.

Training our dogs to walk politely through any threshold has been one of the best decisions we've made, but it's also the training choice that has required the most amount of patience.

Practicing a skill or two at meal time is so easy to integrate into your daily routine that I decided to stress that point.

If you're giving your dog supplements or medications hidden in yummy treats, then ask your dog to do something to earn the "reward."

Keeping training interesting is crucial for your dog and for you. Nobody wants to train if it turns into drudge work.

Rotating skills and rewards helps maintain your dog's focus on the task at hand.

Any time you’re standing around waiting for something or someone, train with your dog. Even if you just get in a minute or two of practice with one skills, that's another minute or two logged that you didn't have before.

Waiting is a great time to work on engagement with dog. Call their name and give your positive marker word when they look at you. 

Change up where you go with your dog for walks. Vary their sniffs. Vary the distractions. Vary the scenery. Your dog will love exploring new places and you'll be less bored too.

If you absolutely cannot vary up where you take your dog for a walk, even temporarily, at least take different routes or rest in different spots

Take advantage of off-leash opportunities and spend a few minutes training your dog. The higher number of distractions can create a much higher return on that time investment.

Most of the time I try to avoid noise, but when I was working on Bernie's socialization, I sought out various sounds. As we continued obedience training, I liked certain reliable neighborhood noises to act as distractions while Bernie and I practiced.

Movie night is a great opportunity to get in some short bursts of training for your dog. 

Laundry is one of those consistent chores that demands time.  Most times I let the laundry pile up for the week and spend hours cycling through each load, fluffing and folding. Sometimes I wash loads of laundry during the week so I don't have the huge weekend time suck.

However you prefer to manage your laundry, it's easy to integrate a little dog obedience training into your routine. I don't train during all stages of laundry every week, but I usually will train during at least one phase.

Knowing that your dog is comfortable in a kennel should bring you peace of mind.

Kennels or crates keep your dog from being underfoot, especially if you have safety concerns.

Taking your dog on jaunts around town is a great opportunity for socialization and some light training.

These adventures allow me to evaluate how my dogs interact in different crowds, meeting new people, and meeting other dogs. While I may not get in a great deal of formal training, I will be expecting polite behavior from Bernie and Lizzie.

Not everyone suffers from insomnia, but for those of us who do, I've found spending time with my dogs to be therapeutic at 2am.

If you’re up in the middle of the night because you cannot get to sleep, you might as well work in fifteen minutes of training.

I am not a fan of housework, so any excuse to break up the drudgery of chores makes me happy.

Whenever I'm cleaning, I take frequent breaks. Some are for snacks for me, but others are to work with the dogs.

In addition to keeping dog obedience training short, you want to keep it fun!

When you make training sessions enjoyable for your dog, more than likely you'll see a higher engagement level. You'll strengthen your bond with your dog. Plus you'll have a good time and forget that you're "working" with your dog.

Playing games are effective for tuckering your dog out both physically and mentally. You can also integrate training on specific cues.

This tip is probably one of my favorites because it's so quick and easy.

Even though I hear dog trainers, including my own, repeat this practical advice for squeezing in some training time, I get the impression that many people forget about it. Or they don't think it will work. Maybe some people think it's mean to delay dinner for a desired behavior.

I'm not really sure if there's true resistance to this practice. I could just be reading too much into how often I hear it from trainers. But I'm jumping on this training tip bandwagon because it works!

Swimming, hiking, cycling, running, walking.

Dogs need exercise, which affords us the perfect time to sneak in some training.

Daily walks where you vary up the expectations will produce a dog who knows how to walk politely on his leash.

Tired dogs are easier to train? Maybe. That really depends on the dog. What you should be able to rely on with a quality doggie daycare, though, is socialization.

As a fairly new dog mom, I quickly realized that obedience training and socialization are equally important constants for dog owners if you truly want to live in harmony with your dog.

Dogs are known for their unwavering loyalty. As people pleasers, they respond positively to steadfast expectations.

Be consistent with expectations, train every day, and make sure everyone in the home knows the various cues and how to use them. If you can create this kind of consistency, your dog will be much more successful with training.

Committing to longer training sessions is difficult.

Unless it's the weekend or I'm on a break from school, my training sessions are usually five to ten minutes or less.

Even during obedience classes I've attended, the activities are structured so I'm not spending more than five to ten minutes on any one skill with my dog.

Welcome to the #AtoZChallenge covering practical dog training tips for busy people. I'm not a dog trainer, so I won't be sharing any secret techniques for getting your dog to stop pulling on that leash.

However, I am a dog mom of two enthusiastic and loving Labradoodles. I've never had dogs before Bernie and Lizzie, and my significant other Matthew last had a dog when he was in middle school, so we've spent the last two years figuring out how to make time or find opportunities to train our pups.

In April, I'll be sharing the little a-ha moments I've had as I've worked with Bernie and Lizzie.

Every April, some bloggers choose to participate in the #AtoZChallenge, which involves publishing daily posts over 26 days except Sundays. Each post focuses on a different letter of the alphabet. For 2018, I'm choosing to unify my posts around the theme: Practical Dog Training Tips for Busy People.

Since I'm not a dog trainer, I won't be covering the techniques for teaching specific cues or commands. Instead, I'll share how I find time to practice with my dogs every day. Now some days my practice may amount to just a few minutes here and there. Other days may involve longer training sessions.