28/10/2026
He knows the behaviour, he knows the environment, so why is he suddenly struggling? 🤔🐾
This little training session with Ninja is such a good example of how one tiny change can make something familiar much harder for our dogs.
When we arrive at my field, I often ask Ninja for a ‘middle’ before releasing him to go and explore.
He LOVES getting out into the field, so he's usually pretty excited at this point, but he can normally manage the behaviour.
And at the end of our session, when I recall him into middle... he does it beautifully.
So he clearly knows what I'm asking.
But here's where it gets interesting…
This time, instead of asking him to do middle while we're facing the field, I turn around so we're facing the gate.
And suddenly, Ninja really struggles.
You can see him trying to work it out, but he keeps circling around me so he can face the field instead.
He's not being stubborn. He's not deliberately ignoring me.
He's excited, anticipating what's coming next, and the picture I've presented is different from the one he's used to.
So rather than repeating the cue or getting frustrated, I make it easier.
I turn back towards the field, ask for a middle he can manage, reward that success, and then turn towards the gate to try again.
And this time, he gets it!
He's still excited and a little squeaky, but he's able to work through it. I reward him and release him to enjoy the field.
This is something I think is so important to remember when training our dogs.
Just because they can do something in one situation doesn't automatically mean they can do it when we change even one small detail.
The direction we're facing, our body position, the level of excitement or what our dog is anticipating can all influence how easy a behaviour feels.
And sometimes, what looks like a dog who 'knows it but won't do it' is actually a dog who needs a little more help understanding what we're asking in that moment.
That's why I love looking at training this way.
Rather than asking, "Why won't my dog do it?"
I ask, "What's changed, and how can I make this easier?"
Next time your dog struggles with something you know they've done before, have a look at the whole picture.
You might be surprised how much difference one tiny change can make.
Have you ever noticed your dog finding a familiar behaviour difficult in a slightly different situation? 👇
