So don’t be too hard on me- I am not an extensively experienced trainer. I’ve been a trainer with Petco for quite a while, and I know my experience is limited as such. I want to continue my education and go through some more intensive programs, and in my looking forward and aspiring, I’m doing a lot of wondering if I’ll ever reach the point it seems everyone else is at where it seems everything has some perfect answer and solution.

There are times where I’ve encountered behavior I can’t quite figure out perfectly, or where a dog might not respond effectively or reliably to any of the things I’ve been taught or told to try. Other times, they might, but hit a plateau and we struggle to progress.

I often encounter dogs that “break the mold” so to speak. When I seek advice from much more seasoned trainers, I feel I often get the same answers over and over again, and it seems assumed that I haven’t really tried these things if they aren’t working as effectively as expected. I often feel condescended by the training community when things feel more complex than “more consistency, more work, more effective counterconditioning.” It sometimes feels that if I don’t produce a perfect dog, then I must just be a really garbage trainer.

My own dog in particular has been with me since day one at 8 weeks (now a year and a half almost) and it feels like even though we did “everything right” by the book, training her always feels like such a paradox. It feels like climbing Everest with ten different maps that are all different, and none of them seem quite right. I’m wondering now if I’m cut out for climbing mountains at all.

Can every dog really be trained to do anything and always do those things consistently? Are there ever times where people with CPDT and KPA certifications and experience just can’t “figure out” a particular issue with some dogs? Is it normal to sometimes feel stumped?