Proofing Vs Generalizing In Dog Training To Grow Skills And Confidence

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%.
Resources:
1. Podcast Episode 172: How To Teach Your Dog Anything With My Training Plan - 5C - • How To Teach Your Dog ...
2. Podcast Episode 24: Help for Dogs who Chase Chipmunks, Bicycles, and Neighbor’s Cats (Distraction Intensity Index) - • Distraction Intensity ...
3. Blog Post: Head Games - susangarrettdogagility.com/20...
4. KZbin Video: Susan Garrett Riffs on Transfer of Value in Dog Training (and water loving Labradors) - • Transfer of Value in D...
Timestamps:
00:00 What I was taught about proofing in dog training.
01:47 Intimidation isn’t necessary for a well-trained dog.
03:57 The elements of the acquisition stage of dog training.
04:33 Why all behaviors are just one trick.
08:44 What everyone needs to know about fluency.
10:00 Generalizing and confidence-building create fluency.
10:27 Bob Bailey’s 80% rule.
11:37 Jean Donaldson’s “Push, Stick, Drop” generalizing method.
15:36 Train the dog in front of you and consider environment.
P.S. Subscribe to our KZbin Channel so you get notifications of new videos!
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Dogs That is brought to you by Susan Garrett and the Say Yes Dog Training Team.
Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behaviour started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science. Since then she has developed into a preeminent dog trainer and canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last three 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 world renowned as a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply science-based learning principles to both competitive and family pet dog training has been pivotal in changing how dogs are trained.
Susan is now helping many thousands of dog owners in 132 countries have the best relationship possible with their dogs. The real joy for her comes from bringing confidence to dogs and their owner through playful interactions and relationship building games that are grounded firmly in the science of how animals learn.
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[@DogsThat]

Watch Shaped by Dog Episode 172 to see how a good dog training plan will set you and your dog up for success and protect your confidence - kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIOtfmxplqhkiNE

[@TiltTV1]

Sigh, I wish there would be a do-over. I competed with my dog Rico in agility and obedience in Germany when I was 12 years old. I was taught military style, punishment and dominating your dogs 😢 but all roads lead to Susan Garrett. Finally, I found what I was looking for. However, it took me 38 years 😭😭😭 better late than never 🙏 thank you for all you do ❤ thank you for teaching kindness

[@barthjanice4716]

Loved your Podcast today. As a new member of Recallers I was wondering how you know when to add more challenge. You really explained the 80% rule with Push, Stick or Drop. 80% is not something my mind can accurately wrap itself around but 4 out of 5 reps makes it crystal clear. Susan, you may train dogs, but I think your real talent is training people to train their dogs. Thank you so much for making it easy for us to be successful with our dogs.

[@jillmartin8195]

This is so practical -and it spells it out for the human 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 1 set=5 reps… push stick or drop. Soooo clear. Thank you

[@DogsThat]

We love that rule, it's so clear for the human! ❤️❤️❤️

[@mandidittloff4500]

Fantastic episode Susan!! A great ‘clarity’ for me.❤

[@wendylevine6076]

This is so important for all of us to remember when placing expectations on our dogs. thank you so much for this podcast!

[@ammi_10]

Oh this was such a good podcast! I'm going to watch this again!😃

[@Jenily111]

Yep this happened to me with agility. We are such a good team at home and at the training facility we were going to. Went to a couple agility trials and we really struggled to keep connection between each other in the ring. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why we were struggling so much. 🤦‍♀🤦‍♀ I don't think my girl was feeling too confident in all these new enviroments I kept throwing her into. 😟 We are both green to the world of dog training and dog sports. So many lessons learned and many more to come I'm sure.

[@nrowland4103]

Thank you for the structure. Awesome video! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@DogsThat]

Thank you, glad it helps!

[@JohnHarris99]

The old concept of proofing led to Ursa being frustrated and eventually she shut down. Looking for a way to reinvigorate our training led me to Susan Garrett and Recallers three years ago. Not only is Ursa happier, but so am I. Onward and upward.

[@allisontraynor2870]

Another great podcast. Loved the explanation of Push, Stick, Drop. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@trudymoffat1572]

Brilliant information!❤️

[@IAMGiftbearer]

Good explanation!

[@jeffreyH360]

Great little gem reminders. How is this different than DASH?

[@RaptorsGirl]

Jeffrey , DASH (Desire-Accuracy-Speed-Habitat) is a great acronym to guide you when you are in the acquisition phase of training.

[@LeaHiltrud]

Dear Susan can you make more movies from tatar salad (and explain how his name came about, long name to call a dog😉) It is always so funny with him when he is in the mood of no way, did you mean me??😅 But also showing us how you got him from NO. To I am all in Would be a real treat, at least for me😂

[@DogsThat]

Hi Lea, Tater certainly is a favorite for everyone, and he is awesome! Here's a video about how he got his name - kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2bPdZd8aLCgiJo

[@mandidittloff4500]

I have a question- just watching this ep again. How can you get your dog to sit 5 times in a row??? My dog will continue to sit until he gets his treat. Lol, 😂

[@DogsThat]

Hi Mandi, you can use your release cue and then ask for sit again. You might enjoy the video all about how to train a sit to help - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYGce4WdgLFlhc0

[@RaptorsGirl]

And of course you can give him a treat after a correct repetition

[@dortenielsen8253]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@watchmoivies123]

So, do you really give your dog a choice when he wants to go for a walk or not? Or is that just in a training face that you want him to speed up the behavior of loving to go for a walk?

[@RaptorsGirl]

We walk the Border Collies A LOT…normally they walk at least 90 minutes a day. The Bulldog cross isn’t that ambitious, so yes, he does get options. He still walks every day, but not every walk.

[@watchmoivies123]

@@RaptorsGirl So do you ask him if he wants to go or not?

[@LindsayHaven]

I've heard her talk about this in the podcast before and I can't remember which podcast # it was. But what I do remember is that Tader Salad is a bulldog cross and he just doesn't have as much energy and he really likes being warm. If he's already gone for a walk and he's in a comfortable position and doesn't respond to walk cues, she will let him stay where he is and enjoy himself. I think what she's talking about here with improving the sit response in regard to the walks is when the dog responds to all the walk cues with excitement, but the sit cue right before the release to walk with a lack of excitement. So in that situation you see the dogs response to the walk cues is fast and engaged, but the response to the sit cue is slow. It would be reasonable to assume the sit action or cue was somehow not as rewarding as the walk cues. That's how I interpreted it anyway. Hope that helps.

[@watchmoivies123]

@@LindsayHaven Well, I guess if I had a medium drive or even a low Drive dog and that was his temperament I guess I wouldn’t wanna change it you can manage stuff a little bit but you can’t really change it you can’t make a bulldog a border collie although I’ve seen some bulldogs have the adrenaline have a Border Collie lol So you said he even went for a walk already once so maybe once is just enough for a bulldog but again they’re all different Thanks for responding

[@watchmoivies123]

Sorry about some boo-boos in the spelling I only speak my words and I probably should go back and make sure they’re all correct

[@aliox1941]

Just found this site, really nice videos. But I am confused. The trainer Susan says to use targets instead of food. But in almost every video, it shows her using a target and then imediately using food. So I'm not sure what the difference is. Why not just forget the target step and used the food lure? If you are still using food even after the target, the food is still the motivation it seems to me..

[@DogsThat]

Hi Steven, thank you for asking! Susan did a podcast episode on shaping vs luring that you can watch here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKmkloZod7Opgbs There's also a full playlist where Susan explains her training philosophy (including the video linked above): kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIrde6Z7p6aLntU

[@watchmoivies123]

Sorry phase