It Didn’t Really Work

A phrase I hear a lot — maybe even something you’ve said about a past trainer.

And look, sometimes that is fair. Maybe the trainer didn’t explain things clearly, didn’t give you anything practical, or just wasn’t a good fit.

But more often — and this is the uncomfortable bit —
it didn’t work because the work wasn’t done.

I’m not talking about trying something once or twice.
I mean actually doing what was asked, consistently, long enough for your dog to understand it. Not glamorous. Not quick. Just the reality of training.

This isn’t me having a dig, I totally get it. Life’s hectic and the day to day stuff gets in the way. It’s just a pattern I see over and over again. Even when someone stops me in the park and goes:

“Hey, my dog does X — what can I do?”

I’ll give them something simple, like:

“Pop a house lead on so you can guide them instead of chasing them, and crate train them so you’ve got a safe place when you can’t supervise.”

And nine times out of ten, the answer is:

“Yeah… I don’t really want to do that. Anything else?”

Everyone wants the magic bullet — the five-minute hack, the quick fix, the thing that’ll “reset” their dog without them having to change anything in their own routine.
Even if you have a different issue, it’s the same principle — simple changes done consistently beat any magic fix.

But the stuff that actually makes the difference is pretty basic stuff:
Are they fulfilled genetically? Is their diet decent? Do they have structure? Are you rehearsing the right things… or the wrong things?

And this is the part nobody really wants to hear:
dogs are actually the easy bit.
It’s getting owners to change the day-to-day stuff that’s hard. Again, I totally get it — school runs, late shifts, multiple jobs, life piling up… it all gets in the way.
But, even 5 minutes of training in the home a day is 35 minutes a week, and thats 35 minutes more than nothing.

Those bits away from sessions matter way more than the 60 minutes or more your trainer spends with you.

And if something the trainer said doesn’t make sense, ask.
If you’re struggling, say.
Your trainer should want you to succeed — your progress is literally the job.

So here’s the blunt truth wrapped in something useful:

Do the reps. Keep at it. Film your homework and get feedback.
Your trainer is very expensive if you don’t use them…
and very, very cheap when you do.

And if you’ve tried training before and it didn’t stick — don’t stress.
We’ll rebuild it properly. Drop me an email and we’ll put a plan together.