I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I just don't feel like training. And I am a dog trainer!

So don't feel bad when you just don't feel like training your dog. If your dog struggles with behavior problems, constantly trying to work on and through these issues can be really draining.

Sometimes these ruts are brought up by something difficult in life, other times it's just being tired or really not feeling it. There is nothing wrong with taking some time for yourself and I think a lot of the time our dogs are in tune with us and can even help comfort us during these times.

However, it's important for their wellbeing and your relationship with your dog to make a commitment to continue training and spending quality time with your dog.

So, what can you do? Well I will tell you what works for me!

Recently when I was in a training rut, I actually started training my cat. This was for fun, but also needed to be done because there were behaviors that he was demonstrating that could use a better alternative behavior. This was a fun way to get started with training again and start taking turns between the cat and the dogs.

If you don't have another pet in the house, don't worry! I was never able to do this until a few months ago, haha!

My favorite thing to do is to teach a SUPER WEIRD behavior. Something stupid and completely pointless. Don't get serious about it, just have fun with it. There should not be an ulterior motive behind teaching your dog this behavior. It should be completely pointless and just for the heck of it.

Something I like to do is put out an object on the floor and click and reward whatever the dog offers. This is called "free shaping". It can be a really frustrating experience if your dog is not one to offer behaviors, but if your dog loves coming up with new things, this might be the game for you!

Another thing I like to do is variations of known tricks. The photo above shows me playing with Tucker's lips and teeth while he does a duration nose touch. Not sure what to do? Take a new object and hold it out in front of your dog, see if they interact with it. Click and reward any interaction and then immediately take the object away.

Eventually this can turn into a take it, hold, touch it, you name it!

Don't over think it, just do something to get back into the game.

One last thing I love to do with my dogs to get into a fun training zone, is BARKOUR! When out on our walk, I like to encourage my dogs to get creative and see what things they can get on, put paws on, or just interact with. There is literally NO LIMIT to the amount of ways your dog can touch, climb on, put paws on, or have a good fun time with a random object. In no time, you might have a dog who climbs trees!

I hope you all have some fun with your dog and that this might give you something to get the motivation back. If you try any of these things, please post on your instagram or facebook and tag me! I would love to see and share it. <3