Why People Stop Training Their Dogs and How to Get Back on Track

Michael Baugh CDBC

I’ve been thinking a lot about why people don’t train their dogs. It’s one of those Holy Grail questions for professional trainers and dog behavior consultants. Why won’t clients follow the plan we laid out together?

The excuses are predictable. I didn’t have time. I’ve been busy. I’m not coordinated enough. I don’t have the right tone of voice. I’m not good enough. Then there are the dog-focused ones. He’s stubborn. My dog is dominant. He’s too old, too young, too dumb, too distracted. Trainers hear these all the time, and it’s tempting to argue with every single point. In our heads, though, the response is usually much shorter. “No, none of that is true.”

So what’s really going on? Those of us who love training do it because it’s fun. Dogs learn when they see their actions affect the world around them. Seeing that in action is thrilling. We learn the same way. Our actions cue the dog’s response. The dog’s actions cue our reinforcement. We are communicating!

The problem is that new trainers give up before they get that first taste of success. It’s like the first episode of a series. If it falls flat, you stop watching. Humans have narrow spans of attention, sometimes. Sound familiar? We crave reinforcement. If we don’t get hooked early, many of us find it hard to keep going. What you need is a spark, something that starts a real conversation between you and your dog. A little back and forth of shared success.

And no, I’m not blaming your dog for failing to reinforce you. He’s probably just as bored and confused as you are.

Here’s the fix: Start simple. I teach hand targeting to all my clients first. It’s the appetizer, the ice breaker, the first clear win for both dog and human. You do this and I do that. Now we’re talking.

But don’t rush. Build gradually and set both of you up to succeed. Grab another easy win. Work on something simple, maybe a trick that makes you laugh. Enjoy the success. Show a friend. Reinforce generously. Once you’re feeling the rhythm, try a more challenging task. You’re getting it, little by little, both of you.

Here’s the bottom line. You can train your dog. And you can learn to love training, too. Drop the labels and get out of your own head. Go for that early win, that “wow” moment. Your dog will feel it, too. Ahh, this is how we have a conversation! Smile. Laugh. Have some fun. And get ready to learn. Your dog has a lot to teach you.

Michael Baugh teaches online dog training and in-person training in Houston, TX. He specializes in aggressive dog training.

Dog Training is Experiential

Michael Baugh CDBC

I can show you dog training techniques, the timing, the mechanics, the way your hands and body move. That part matters. You can learn a lot from dog training books, from articles, even from watching good trainers online. Those things help. But nothing replaces the experience of doing the work yourself.

Dog training is experiential. It isn’t something we do to our dogs. It’s something we do with them. We learn it in the same way they do: by trying, adjusting, and feeling it out as we go.

Mechanical Skills: Learning Through Movement

Effective dog training is physical. How we reach for the treat bag matters. The direction we turn our shoulders matters. Even whether we’re sitting, standing, or walking matters. Dogs see all of it.

Humans are natural imitators, so watching a skilled trainer can give you a great head start. But the learning really begins when you try it.

Your dog will teach you, too. Pay attention to how they respond to your movements, your posture, your facial expressions, even a small shift of your weight. These subtle cues shape the conversation between you and your dog.

There’s no perfecting this by reading alone. You only learn the dance by dancing.

Timing: The Art of Seeing the Moment

Good timing is all about the eyes. We reinforce as the behavior happens or just after, not minutes later, not even several seconds later.

That doesn’t mean you need to deliver the treat quickly. In fact, reaching for the treat bag too soon often distracts the dog. Instead, we use a marker like a clicker, or a consistent word that tells the dog, “Yes, you got it right, and your reward is coming.”

You can absolutely watch an experienced trainer do this. But great timing comes from practice. You build that skill rep by rep, moment by moment, until your marker feels almost automatic.

What About Board and Train?

People ask this a lot: “Can’t someone just train my dog for me?” We’ve all heard about the neighbor’s dog who went to “boot camp.” Some programs help; some cause real harm.

A positive-reinforcement board and train can give your dog a solid foundation. The most reputable programs require follow-up sessions so you learn how to continue the work at home. Take those seriously. Ask the trainer to coach you while you practice. Their expertise gets things started, but your involvement keeps it going.

Avoid trainers who rely on physical corrections, shock collars, or verbal intimidation. These so-called balanced dog training methods can damage a dog’s emotional well-being. And if you stayed with that approach, you’d be learning how to hurt your own dog. None of us brings a dog into our life to do that.

Training Together: The Real Reward

Training with your dog is a beautiful experience. It’s fun, sometimes messy, sometimes awkward, always deeply connecting. You’re learning about your dog while your dog is learning with you.

You’ve heard me say it before: training is communication. It’s one of the most meaningful conversations you’ll ever have with your dog.

So get in there. Try the thing. Allow yourself to feel uncoordinated at first. Work it out together. Keep going.

This is how great relationships form — through presence, effort, and shared experience. You bring your whole self, your dog brings theirs, and something remarkable grows between you.

Michael Baugh CDBC teaches dog training in Houston TX and online. He specializes in aggressive dog training.

What is Person Centered Dog Training?

Michael Baugh CDBC

Person-centered dog training begins with an idea from psychologist Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology. Rogers believed people have a natural capacity for growth and change, and that the right relationship can bring it out. He first called his approach client-centered therapy and later referred to it as person-centered therapy. Instead of the expert “fixing” the client, Rogers taught that clients themselves can guide their own progress when met with empathy, acceptance, and authenticity.

I’ve studied Carl Rogers for over thirty years. His contributions are more than a series of techniques. In fact, he referred to the person-centered approach as a “way of being.” And his influence extended far beyond the therapist-client relationship. Rogers taught his person-centered way of being to health care providers, parents, educators, and even world leaders. Today, person-centered techniques are the norm in all forms of therapy, and we see their impact in business leadership, ministry, and coaching.

What is most important about the person-centered way of being?

Relationship is everything. Whether it’s a therapist and a client, a teacher and a student, a father and a son, a doctor and a patient, or a dog behavior consultant and a dog guardian, their relationship is the intervention. That’s a bold statement. But if we remember the foundational idea that humans have an innate capacity for growth and change, it’s easy to see how the right learning relationship and environment can make that happen.

What makes a person-centered relationship work?

Empathy — deeply understanding another’s internal world and communicating that understanding. Empathy is an early twentieth-century translation of the German word Einfühlung, which literally means “in-feeling.” We could say we are feeling into our client’s experience.
Unconditional Positive Regard — accepting the other person without judgment or conditions, affirming their worth regardless of behavior. This can be hard.
Congruence (authenticity) — in our discussion, this is the dog behavior consultant being genuine and transparent, rather than hiding behind a professional or social façade. We trainers sometimes struggle with this. Let’s own our expertise. Let’s also show up with a healthy dose of humor and humility. Be you. It’s enough.

What are the challenges of person-centered dog training?

In psychotherapy, clients find their own way to solutions with the help of the person-centered relationship. Remember, the relationship is the thing.

In education, teachers create an environment with resources, but the learners guide their own experience. This was revolutionary in the mid-twentieth century, and the ideas live on today.

Dog training is rarely this self-directed. We’re used to giving clients a list of tasks, with a right and wrong way to do each one. Too often, we:

Dismiss clients’ training ideas.
Criticize their past attempts (even when some were successful).
Insist on rigid “trainer-approved” methods.

That kind of teaching wrecks the trainer–client relationship. It’s also the opposite of a person-centered approach.

How does a person-centered dog trainer make room for client self-direction?

We show up with empathy, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard. We’re not perfect, but we are ourselves. From that place, we help clients gain the skills and knowledge they need to work with their dogs, and to solve problems on their own.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Let clients set their own goals. It’s their dog, not yours.
Honor their skills and experience. Ask what has worked and what hasn’t. Build on the good, set aside the rest.
Share new dog training skills as options. Explain why you think they may help, then let clients choose which to learn.
Offer resources. Point clients to videos, articles, or handouts so they can learn independently.
Encourage creativity. Ask what the client has tried, reinforce smart solutions, and integrate them into the plan. (One client showed me how mat training diffused an object-guarding problem. It was brilliant.)
Celebrate wins. Clients will want to give you credit, but keep the focus on them. They did the work. You provided the relationship and environment for learning to happen.

Carl Rogers’ person-centered approach reminds us that people learn and grow best in relationships built on empathy, acceptance, and authenticity. When we apply this to dog training, we empower our clients to take ownership of their learning, to make choices, to become fully involved. If all this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve been teaching dogs like this for years, some of us for decades.

“I feel enriched when I can truly prize or care for or love another person and when I can let that feeling flow out to that person.” (Rogers, A Way of Being, 1980). My dear prized trainer friends, this is why we get up each morning. We change dogs’ lives; we save them sometimes. And we are doing the same for our fellow humans. Let that sink in. Smile on it. This is who we are.

Michael Baugh teaches dog training and dog trainers in Houston Texas. He specializes in aggressive dog training.