Dog Vocabulary: Generalize

Throughout this blog, you will hear me repeat the statement, “Dogs do not generalize” over and over again. If you have been wondering what it meant, here’s your chance to learn more about how dogs think, and why training them is harder than just attending a puppy class.

Imagine for a moment learning to ride a bicycle. You probably learned how to ride it in your own neighborhood, with the help of your parents. Once you learned how to ride it, maybe your parents took you to the park or a trail too ride—and you did!

Congratulations! You  were able to ‘generalize’ riding your bicycle. You took the skills learned in your neighborhood and applied it to riding in the park, riding on the trail, or riding along a boardwalk.

Dogs can’t do this. In their brain, learning to sit at puppy school is not at all the same as sitting at home. Learning to sit while there is a piece of kibble on the floor is an entirely different situation than sitting without it there.

They have to be taught, over and over again, as if they’ve never learned this command, in many different situations before they can conclude that sit means sit anywhere.

We call training dogs to understand a cue in a variety of different situations ‘proofing.’ It may take only a minute to teach a dog a new skill such as sit or down, but it often takes many weeks before a dog is reliable in a variety of situations.

Your job as a dog trainer, or even simply a dog owner, is to have patience and give them a tour of different possible situations, so they’ll have the tools needed to listen when the time comes. A few ideas of conditions you might want to try include:

• Practicing in each room of your house
• Practicing on leash outside your home. (Yes, even recall. Use a long lead for that.)
• Practicing at a pet store
• Practicing while there is a tasty piece of kibble on the floor. (Do this last, wear shoes, and step on the kibble if your dog tries to eat it instead of obey the cue.)
• Practice while toys are being squeaked.
• Practice at the park
• Practice at different distances

By the time your dog learns these situations, chances are if you present them with a new situation they’ll be able to handle it. Even then though, dogs can sometimes surprise you. Just try lying down instead of standing or sitting to offer a cue—chances are your pup will furiously lick your face instead of obeying anything.

Once again, it’s not that your pup is disobedient and may even be highly trained, it’s just that they’ve never been taught how to handle this particular situation.

This is also why training never really ends. There’s always a new situation, a new person, or a new distraction just around the corner. Better get training!

Similar Posts:

• 3 D’s of Dog Training: Distance, Duration, Distraction
• Training Vocabulary: Proofing
• Introducing Novel Situations
• Review of Understanding Your Dog
• Review of Zak George’s Guide to a Well-Behaved Dog