I have many clients who get frustrated with the lack of progress with their dog training. I get it. It sometimes isn’t easy. And sometimes you have to put so much trust in the process when you can’t see those fast wins.
Our lives are busy, and stressful, and when we aren’t seeing progress, it’s easy to not do anything.
On those days, it’s easy to slip back into old habits of not practising, or only working on the old/already mastered tricks, or being too busy to train.
On those days, we need a little pep talk from our trainers (usually the days a client messages me for a chat, or a big virtual hug), and that’s ok. That’s what we are here for- to be your coach from the wings as you and your dog navigate this journey together.
What I find helps me, and I recommend to most of my clients is
1) Schedule training in exactly the same way you schedule a Dr’s appointment. Put it in your planner.
2) Little and often. Break those training sessions down into 3-5 minute chunks and work between tasks (like a commercial break)
3) Write it down. If you don’t see any progress at all, are you actually doing the work? It’s very easy to think we are doing more than we actually are.
