What a Broken Elevator Taught Me About Dog Training (and the Power of Habits)
A year and a half ago, the elevator in one of my client’s buildings broke.
Thankfully, it’s only three floors up — but still, that adds up fast!
So for the past 18 months, every time I visited, I’d take the stairs. No questions asked. Up and down, five days a week. It wasn’t exactly fun, but it became part of my routine. We even turned it into a training opportunity and started using the stairs to practice Corki’s “wait.”
Here’s a little video of us making the most of the hassle:
We did this so much that eventually…we stopped thinking about it.
Then last month — a miracle! The elevator was finally fixed. The whole building celebrated (there were even donuts on inauguration day!)
Except… my brain didn’t get the memo 😅
For at least a week after the grand elevator revival, I kept marching right past it and straight up the stairs — completely on autopilot. I’d only remember the elevator after I was breathless near the top.
I knew it was fixed. I’d celebrated with everyone else!
But knowing wasn’t enough to undo the habit that had been burned into my brain.
And guess what? I wasn’t the only one doing it.
Corki 🐶 was doing the exact same thing!
The moment we stepped out of his apartment, he’d go straight for the stairs — just like I did. I still have to gently remind him, “Nope, we’re taking the elevator now,” and guide him in a new direction.
Here’s a video so you can see the power of habit for yourself:
This was such a simple experience, but it definitely drove the point home:
Habits are powerful!
They’re not about thinking — they’re about doing. They live in the automatic part of our brains. And once something becomes a habit, it doesn’t matter whether you’re human or dog… it becomes the default.
And default behaviours take very conscious work to break.
This is exactly why consistency and repetition matter so much in dog training.
When I practice things like “wait at the door” or “ask a dog to sit before the start of our games” I’m not just trying to get a behavior in the moment. I’m trying to build a loop — a reliable, brain-deep habit that kicks in without my dog needing to think about it.
And those habits don’t just happen because our dogs understand. They happen because we’ve done it so many times it becomes automatic.
That’s why it’s worth repeating the little things:
👉 waiting for a cue
👉 checking in on walks
👉 rewarding calmness
👉 rehearsing the kind of behavior you want to see more of
Because one day, those things stop being training.
They just become what your dog does.
And that’s when the magic really happens.
✨
If you’re ready to start building walk habits that actually stick — for both you and your dog — I put together a free guide to help you get started.
It’s called “5 Simple Shifts for Smoother Walks”, and it’s packed with real-life strategies I use every day with dogs who have big feelings.
Small shifts. Big changes. Let’s get you off autopilot and into a walk routine that actually works.
