Dog Training Isn’t a Straight Line: Why Progress Can Wobble

Dog training progress isn’t linear. Discover why your dog’s skills may wobble and how to work through setbacks with kindness and perspective.

Dog Training Isn’t a Straight Line: Why Progress Can Wobble

Dog training doesn’t follow a straight, upward line of progress. Sometimes it feels more like a winding footpath, with progress, pauses, and even steps backwards.

And that’s normal.

Why Training Progress Isn’t Linear

1. Dogs Aren’t Robots

Our dogs are living beings with emotions, good days and bad days, and moments when the world is simply too distracting or too exciting to remember how to sit or stay. We might feel frustrated when they “forget” what they knew last week, but often, it’s not forgetting—it’s just that learning and applying a skill in different places or situations is hard work for a dog.

2. Context Matters

Your dog might sit beautifully at home but struggle to do so in a busy park or at training. Skills need to be practised in different environments to become reliable, and each new location feels like starting again to many dogs.

3. Developmental Stages

Puppies hit phases where they seem to lose their brains overnight (hello, adolescence!). As they grow, hormones and brain development can cause temporary regressions in training. This isn’t a failure; it’s a phase to be navigated with patience and consistent, gentle guidance.

4. Handler Consistency

We all have days when we’re tired, stressed, or distracted, and our handling might not be as clear as usual. Dogs notice these small changes, and it can impact their responses. Remembering that we are part of the learning equation helps us stay kind to ourselves too.

A Wobble Is Feedback

A wobble in your dog’s training isn’t just a setback—it’s your dog giving you feedback.

It tells you that something in the situation, environment, or your training plan needs adjusting to help your dog succeed. It might mean:

🐾 The distraction level is too high.
🐾 The cue isn’t fully understood in this context.
🐾 Your dog is tired, overwhelmed, or not in the right emotional state to learn.
🐾 You may need to split the exercise into smaller, achievable steps.

Instead of seeing a wobble as a failure, see it as your dog saying, “I need more help here.” This is valuable information that can guide your next training steps while maintaining trust and connection.

When we reframe wobbles as communication rather than disobedience, we can adjust our expectations and set our dogs up for success without frustration—for us or them.

Seeing “Setbacks” Differently

A wobble in training isn’t a sign to give up or to push harder; it’s a sign to pause and look at the learning picture:

🐾 Does your dog fully understand the cue in this environment?
🐾 Are distractions too high for your dog’s current skill level?
🐾 Is your dog physically or emotionally tired?
🐾 Are you feeling patient and clear in your handling today?

Taking a step back to rebuild skills, splitting exercises into smaller parts, or changing the environment to help your dog succeed are not failures—they are smart adjustments.

Why It Matters

When we understand that training isn’t linear, we stop expecting perfection and start focusing on the relationship we are building with our dogs. Each “step back” is actually an opportunity to reinforce learning, build confidence, and teach our dogs how to work through challenges.

A Journey, Not a Race

Dog training is a journey, not a race. It’s not about ticking boxes but about communicating effectively with the dog in front of us, in the moment, even if that means revisiting basics or adjusting expectations.

Because at the end of the day, we’re training dogs, not programming machines, and that’s what makes it so special.