Are You Frustrated With Your Dog Training?

Training is like a journey. If you are traveling you start out with an itinerary. In the case of dog training we start with a training plan and look forward to getting from point A to point B with relative ease. It is fun to see the dog start to understand the lesson and then to progress to fluency where the dog understands and does the behavior when asked.

However, some days do not go so smoothly. Your dog was doing just fine yesterday, making good choices and responding well to the down cue. But, today is a different story. Today, it is as if you had never worked on the down cue before. It is frustrating.

But wait, hold that thought. Did you know that training success is not linear?  It doesn’t matter what skill is being learned, what species the learner is or how old the learner is. Even skilled trainers can experience this. There will be setbacks and challenges on your journey. No worries, if a pattern of setbacks and challenges continue it is time to re-group and evaluate the training plan. Also evaluate whether you are making training fun for your dog. Are you having fun? Smile while you are training. It makes a world of difference to your dog.

On those days where everything is going beautifully, go ahead and celebrate your success. On the days where things seem to be going wrong, just brush it off. Take a break. You can skip the training session and go do something that is fun with your dog. This is the best plan if you are frustrated. If there is discord between the teacher and the learner progress is not going to happen. Quite often taking a day off from training will help the dog to process the lessons and come back better than before.

If you find that you are having more bad days than good, maybe you can figure out a different way to teach the lesson.  If you need help to do that seek out a certified dog trainer.