Turn left instead of right

Originally shared October 29, 2019. Original post.

Last night when we took Inertia for her evening walk, we decided to turn left instead of right.

Same park, same lakefront, different direction. Inertia had never gone this way before, and even though we could turn around and see our usual walking area, to Inertia it was a WHOLE NEW WORLD.

A change in your dog’s environment can cause them to act differently than you might expect. But I think many people don’t realize how subtle a “change in environment” can seem to us humans, when it’s a really big change for our dogs.

Taking Inertia to a different piece of her usual park, just a few hundred feet from where she normally walks, was a HUGE change for her, and so I made sure to lower my expectations accordingly while she took in the new sights and smells in this area of the park.

Even something as subtle as an additional person sitting in the living room where your dog normally does all of their tricks flawlessly can really throw them off.

So, the next time your dog is acting differently than you’d expect, or struggling to focus on you when it’s normally no problem, take a minute to think about anything unusual that might be throwing them off.

If you think you’ve discovered something new about the environment that your dog is noticing, help them work through it by either letting them explore the new thing and satisfy their curiosity, or by creating a little extra distance from it or asking your dog to do something easier to set them up for success.

Having a little empathy and looking at things from your dog’s perspective can really help you make progress with your training!

Watch the process in Inertia’s series.