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.