When Something Doesn’t Work…

By now, you’ve had a chance to practice the luring exercise.

Some of you will have found it surprisingly easy.

Others may have thought…

“My dog just isn’t interested.”
“They kept grabbing at the food.”
“They got too excited.”
“They wouldn’t follow my hand.”
“This doesn’t work for my dog.”
“They’re not into toys/food so it won’t work”

If that’s you, I want to challenge that thought.

Very rarely does a training technique not work.

More often, one of the pieces around it needs adjusting.

Ask yourself:

• Was my environment too distracting?
• Was my reward valuable enough?
• Was my reward too exciting for my dog?
• Was I moving my hand too quickly?
• Was I rewarding at exactly the right moment?
• Was my training session simply too long?
• Was my dog actually ready to learn at that moment?
• Was it too difficult for my dog?

Every one of these factors can completely change the outcome of a training session.

The best dog trainers don’t assume a dog has failed.
They become detectives and actually don’t blame anything other than themselves in these moments.

Instead of asking…

“Why isn’t my dog getting it?”

They ask…

“What can I change to help my dog succeed?”

Your challenge today

Before moving on, go back and watch yesterday’s lesson one more time.

You’ll be amazed how many little details you notice the second time around like your hand position, timing, pace, reward placement and your own body language.

Then have another short practice session and see whether changing just one thing improves the outcome.

Reflection

Tell us in the WhatsApp group tonight:

What was the biggest challenge you encountered during the luring exercise, and what do you think you’ll try differently next time?

Remember, progress doesn’t come from getting everything right the first time.

It comes from observing, adapting and trying again.

That’s exactly how both great trainers, and great dogs, learn.