When a behavior fades, what should you practice first?
A behavior rarely disappears all at once. More often, it becomes slower, less consistent, or dependent on extra help. The useful question is not whether to start over, but which small piece needs a timely review.
Find the first weak link
Start with the earliest point where performance changed. The cue may still be understood while duration, distance, or distraction has become less reliable. Separating those pieces keeps the next practice specific.
Choose a version your dog can complete safely and consistently. A successful short review gives you better information than repeatedly testing the hardest version.
Use a small recovery session
Keep the first session brief. Review one clear task, record what happened, and stop before performance becomes noisy. The goal is to rebuild a dependable response, not to complete a large lesson.
- Lower one difficulty variable at a time.
- Reward the response you want to preserve.
- Repeat soon when the result is inconsistent; wait longer when it is fluent.
Let the next review follow the result
A difficult session is useful evidence. It suggests that the task needs another review sooner. A fluent session supports a longer interval, helping maintenance stay manageable instead of turning into daily repetition of everything.