From Hallway to Open Room

You've been using the hallway as training wheels. Time to take them off.

First, stretch the reps. In the hallway, build from one step back to two, then to four or five before you mark.

Then drop the walls. Move to the middle of an open room and ask for the same backup. With nothing to guide them, your dog now has to steer the line themselves — that is the real skill, and where back finally becomes reliable anywhere.