My 15 month old dog is no longer interested in training, would there be a benefit in taking a break from structured activities for a couple of weeks?

15 months, Aussie, intact male.
Hard Natured, stoic but sensitive.
training since 9 weeks.

In our training my dog no longer is as interested or driven to work with anyone, he still has a desire and seeks things to do but has no interest in the training and his body language is flat. I get some motivation but he will disengage and seems to act begrudgingly.

I included more game-based but still seems bored.

Trained with +reinforcement and limited corrections, herding weekly, trick and obedience daily.

training sessions were short and he has a really big prey drive. We go on one to two longer hikes a week.

I see lots of opinions on breaks mid-session, but nothing about extended training breaks.

He has a toy and food drive and I interchange these and keep his sessions as engaging as possible.

Could there be benefit for a couple of weeks of rolling back letting him mature a bit and focus on him finding value in our time together. I am not sure what the right call is here?

Cindy's Answer

I find that my dogs almost always benefit from a break in training, especially as they are hitting different developmental phases. At 15 months your dog is an adolescent, much like an 18 year old kid.

It's never a bad idea to give breaks and just do "nothing" By nothing, I mean free time, maybe walks with no end goal, just to let him sniff and be a dog. Even something that is fun loses value if it's done constantly. If you have an area fenced in that he can safely hang out in, that's always an option too.