07/10/2025
🐾 WHEN THE TRAINER’S DOG HAS A BAD DAY: You will want to repost or save this so you have this when you have a bad day with your dog 🐾
This morning’s session with Sheldon was, without question, the worst training session we’ve ever had.
He absolutely nailed his warm-up — 100% compliance in heelwork for three minutes around pigeons and crows. Then we moved into the next field for a simple down behaviour. Easy, right?
We failed.
Not once — twice.
And not a “6-out-of-10” fail… I’m talking a 2-out-of-10 performance.
Eight times he missed the criteria — no first-time response, no start within two seconds.
After that, everything slipped.
His focus, his response speed, his enthusiasm.
So, I stopped. No more planned training — just cues when needed.
You might be wondering, “how can a dog capable of all that heelwork fail a simple down?”
One word: ADOLESCENCE.
And it’s not the first time a behaviour has broken down due to adolescence.
So what’s the plan?
I’m giving Sheldon two days off from walks and training at the fields. Then I’ll revisit the behaviour, rebuild it from the ground up, and re-proof it. It doesn’t take as long as you’d think — this will be the fourth rebuild in five months.
That means I need to change my habits.
I love training in the countryside, but right now, that’s not what he needs.
He needs clarity, structure, and a simpler environment to succeed.
If I keep pushing him to work where he’s struggling, all I’m teaching him is to fail.And when we do that — we end up blaming the dog instead of their education.
Some dogs are lucky — they end up with trainers who understand. Others meet ego trainers who punish them for “not listening.”
The difference?
One adjusts the plan. The other blames the dog.
💭 Even as trainers, our dogs remind us: progress isn’t linear — and humility is a training tool too.
I’ll post an update in a few days once we’ve rebuilt the behaviour again. Let’s see how the plan goes. 🖤
💛 Experience the Gold Standard in Dog Training. 💛
