Training Tuesday: Proofing vs Generalizing in Dog Training

What if we changed our mindset from proofing to building confidence?

This podcast and video are shared with permission from Susan Garrett's Shaped by Dog podcast series.

When I first started dog training 30 or so years ago, I was studying the sport of dog obedience because I wanted to compete. We were taught to lure our dog to do what we wanted and then move to the proofing stage. When proofing, we were looking for errors to test how well the dog understood what we’d taught them. And if our dog failed, we were instructed to give them a correction.

What if we changed our mindset from proofing to building confidence? We’re covering how to help our dogs clearly understand what we want in any location and situation.

In the episode you'll hear:

• How you can have a well-trained dog without using corrections and intimidation.
• What proofing in dog training is and why it can create unrealistic expectations.
• About the acquisition and fluency stages of training a dog.
• How we can look at any behavior we are training as just one trick.
• That fluency will let you know what your dog really understands.
• How to generalize behavior, so your dog has the confidence to perform anywhere.
• Why generalizing leads to environmental neutrality for dogs.
• Bob Bailey’s 80% rule and using Jean Donaldson’s “Push, Stick or Drop” to determine that 80%.

Visit the website for the complete transcript of this podcast.

About Susan Garrett

Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behavior started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in animal science. Since then she has developed into a pre-eminent canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last two decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.

A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply learning principles to practical and competitive dog training has made her a much sought-after speaker throughout North America and as far away as Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The Dog Writers Association of America named Susan’s book “Shaping Success” the 2005 "Dog Training and Behaviour Book of the Year." 

Read more about Susan and her training philosophy.