How to handle regression after board and train

Behavior science has a name for much of this. In a 2002 review in Biological Psychiatry, the psychologist Mark Bouton summarized a large body of evidence that when an old response fades, the original learning is not destroyed. The new learning is stored alongside it and depends heavily on context, and the old response tends to come back when the context changes, most often on a return to the place where it was first learned. Researchers call that the renewal effect.

Read that with a board and train in mind. The new habits were built in our building; the old ones were built in your kitchen, your hall and your street. Coming home is a return to the original context, so some renewal is to be expected. Bouton also described spontaneous recovery, an old response returning after time has passed, which is why a habit that seemed gone in week one can surface in week four. Neither means the training failed.

Pain sits at the top of the list because it is easy to miss. A 2020 review in the journal Animals by Daniel Mills and colleagues estimated, conservatively, that around a third of dogs and cats referred for problem behavior had some painful condition, and it urged vets to treat suspected pain first. A dog that suddenly guards, snaps, avoids being touched or soils indoors belongs with a vet before it sees a trainer.

Adolescence is the next suspect. A 2020 study in Biology Letters followed young guide-dog candidates and found that at eight months they were more likely than at five months to ignore their own carer's sit cue, while their response to a stranger improved; the authors described a passing phase. Rewards quietly drying up tells any dog the deal has changed. And a new baby, a move, a new work schedule, a nor'easter week stuck indoors or a summer of house guests shifts the routine a dog depends on.

Send us a short description through the Dogtown app, or use the training form, which gets a reply within one hour on business days. If your dog did Advanced and the second scheduled coaching lesson has not happened yet, a slip is exactly what to bring to it. Otherwise a private session, from $94, lets a trainer see the slip happen and adjust the plan. A short phone clip of the moment it goes wrong is worth a page of description.

Some slips point to a different program. Adolescents whose impulse control has fallen away do well in Calm & Connected, while fear or reactivity that has surfaced at home belongs in Focus & Flow, 6 weeks and 12 sessions, or React Less, Relax More, 8 weeks and 16 sessions. Growling, snapping or a bite needs your vet and a consult before any training. Our board and train page sets out what each stay covered. While you reset, Academy days at $89 full or $69 half add trainer time, and the Pup Van brings dogs from Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea for $10 each way.