On Losing the Motivation to Train Your Dog

If you have ever felt like you are “failing” with your dog’s training, you are not alone. Life ebbs and flows, and your energy, capacity, and motivation go right along with it.

I have experienced this myself, even as a dog trainer who genuinely loves training. During the first trimester of my pregnancy, my motivation to train my own dog was basically nonexistent. I was tired, nauseous, and just trying to get through the day. Training felt like the last thing I had in me. I let months pass without training anything new.

This experience really reinforced something I talk to clients about all the time. Self shame is not helpful. It does not motivate you. It actually pushes you further away from taking action. When you start telling yourself that you are lazy, inconsistent, or bad at training, it becomes that much harder to start again.

A five minute training session once a day will take you so much further than one long, ambitious session once a week that you keep putting off. Training does not have to be this big, structured event. It can be small, woven into your daily life, and still incredibly effective.

There will be seasons where training is not a priority, and that does not make you a failure. The important thing is not letting those breaks turn into a fixed mindset where you start to believe you are someone who just cannot follow through. You are not incapable. You are human!

Something I come back to often is that training is not about perfection in the moment. You are putting in small amounts of effort now so that on the days when life feels chaotic or your health takes a hit, your dog already has the skills to navigate the world with you.

Training is what supports the lazy days. The sick days. The days where you just do not have much to give. So if you are in a low motivation season, take a break or do something small. Your future self and your dog will thank you for it.