10/11/2026
One of the biggest lessons I've learned as a trailing instructor is that progression isn't always about adding something new.
When I first started trailing, I thought progress meant making the trails harder.
Longer trails. More challenges. More distance between the start and the end.
But there's something far more important than simply adding difficulty.
Consolidating skills.
It's easy to keep moving forward, introducing new challenges and expecting our dogs to figure it out as they go. But how often do we stop and give them the time to really understand what we've already taught them?
To revisit a skill.
To practise it in a different environment.
To build confidence in something they've found difficult.
To repeat something they can do, until they can do it with greater consistency and independence. And you can actually read your dog on the trail?
Because just getting to the end of a trail doesn't necessarily mean a dog has understood the skills we wanted them to learn along the way.
And this means looking at the dog in front of us, rather than following a predetermined plan of progression.
Can they do it consistently? Can they problem solve independently? Are they confident, or are we helping them through something they're not quite ready to tackle alone?
Progress isn't always about moving forwards. Sometimes, it's about strengthening the foundations you've already built.
I'm learning to enjoy that part of the journey just as much as introducing something new. Because the goal isn't simply to get a dog to complete a trail. It's to build a dog who understands the job, has the skills to work through challenges and has the confidence to make decisions for themselves.
And that takes time. It takes patience. And sometimes, it takes the confidence of an instructor or handler to do a little less, rather than a little more.
There's always something new to learn, but that doesn't mean we should rush past the learning we have already.
Drop me a comment if you agree 👇
