Tuesday Training Byte: "Proofing" your dog

Proofing is the training we do to make sure our dog understands the command and will do it 99% of the time. Generalizing is when our training and the dog's performance will remain the same in various situations and locations. For example, your dog may do the recall perfectly every time while on leash, but not when off leash, so proofing is needed to fix that. Another example is that your dog will recall off leash at home, but not in the park.

First, figure out what triggers your dog to not obey. Then move your dog away from that trigger. I start training my dog in the house without distractions. I gradually increase the three D's of distance, distraction, and duration. If your dog doesn't immediately recall on your first command every time, go back to the very easy stuff with doing recalls in the house while on leash.

Next, we can add distractions at a distance. Hopefully you have already taught your dog the "watch me" cue. Allow your dog to look at the distraction for a moment, but he should look back to you and check in. If he doesn't look at you after noticing the distraction, tell him "Watch me!" and reward the eye contact. Have your dog "front" come and sit in front of you with his back to the distraction. Praise him for ignoring the distraction and give him a treat.

Lastly, if your dog was doing what you want then relapses, start over with the basics to make sure he understands that come means come on the first command every time, so stay means stay until you come back and release your dog. The mistake many people make is removing the leash too soon or asking too much too soon in a distracting environment. If you are watching your dog closely you will be able to see when he disengages with you, and will likely not obey. When this happens, start back with the basics of focus and watch me. Happy training! Pictured is my boy Grissom training on leash in the house before we go outside to train.