14/08/2025
Training a dog isn't always a straightforward journey.
When you train a dog a new behaviour, progress isn't always that straight line to the end that you'd hoped for.
Frustrating? Yes. Normal? Absolutely!!
Just like humans, just because they 'got it' yesterday, doesn't mean they will the next day. Training takes mental energy, so if your dog is tired, distracted, hot etc, they may not have the energy to think about what we are asking.
Dogs also aren't great at generalising, so the behaviour they absolutely nailed in the living room may feel like a completely new thing in the middle of a park, so you may feel like you are retraining the same thing multiple times!
Sometimes we expect too much too soon - especially if its a behaviour we desperately want the dog to get the hang of. Breaking everything down in to smaller steps achieves the best results.
Regression is normal - in fact it's part of the learning process. Brains consolidate skills in waves so sometimes a bit of a backstep is the step before a leap forward.
Adolescence can have a huge impact! An adolescent dog already has so much going on in their brain that even performing what to us are 'simple' behaviours can seem impossible!
Your dog WILL get there - patience, consistency and managing the environment are your best ways to help them 😊🐾
