When Training Goes Wrong

Everyone who is trying to train their dog inevitably reaches a setback. Depending on the problem, this can be either a mild annoyance or a serious problem. However, I'm here to confirm that it does, in fact, happen to everyone.

All of you who have been following my allergy dramas know that I now have to have a vaccination every two weeks, which is given to me by my mom and dad. At first, I tolerated it quite nicely. Then, I realized that it wasn't a one-time thing and started to get annoyed. And I started to snap. Of course, Mom leaped into action with her treats, trying to make it more positive, and that worked.

However, this week, I got fed up again. I started snapping and growling and snapping some more. I had a true breakdown. Dad was stunned. Even Mom was angry.

But then she remembered that she has to practice what she preaches. She is always telling her clients that sometimes, you have setbacks. Sometimes, everything is running smoothly and then out of the blue, your dog will have a relapse. Once your dog has a bad habit, it's always a possibility; you will just often go years without seeing that habit resurface.

So, she is back at training. Apparently, I will now be trained to wear a muzzle, and she will practice the shot + treats training with me. I'm not looking forward to this new development, as most of this training benefits the humans more than the dogs, but I just wanted to reassure you that even dog trainer's dogs experience setbacks in training.

So keep training and keep a positive attitude! It will pay off in the end.

Love, Fenway