Step 1 Introduction

You can introduce a new behavior to your dog’s repertoire a number of different ways. I prefer to help dogs figure out what I want by luring them into a new behavior, capturing the behavior with a clicker, or shaping the behavior. All of these methods help the dog figure out what they are doing right by providing feedback through rewards (treats work best for teaching new behaviors for most dogs).

Step 2 Generalization or “He did it perfectly at home why won’t he do it in class?!”

After your dog has worked out the complete behavior you want, you must help him realize that he can do that behavior anytime, anywhere, and whenever you cue it. This surprises most people. They tend to think that once their dog has demonstrated a perfect recall once, he should be able to repeat that at any time. It would be great if this were the case, but sadly it isn’t. It takes awhile for dogs to realize which cues are important,  and it takes practice to be able to perform the cue with distractions or in new locations.  So after you have introduced a behavior you must generalize it. This means practice in many different situations, with different people, facing different directions, on different sides of your body, at different times of day, in different locations, inside, in the yard, at the park etc… Generalization is what you will spend MOST of your dog training time on.

The best way to generalize a new behavior is to raise your criteria for that behavior in VERY small steps, but raise it quickly. If the recall is the behavior you want, then start it from only 1 meter away. When he has done 8 perfect 1 meter recalls, ask for a 2 meter recall! If he can’t do 2 meters try 1.5 meters. Each session you practice, start two levels below where you think he can be successful then quickly work your way back up, then encourage him to do just a little bit more during each practice.  But remember it takes PRACTICE! The prefect recall is not learned in a single session.

Step 3 Maintenance

Occasionally you need to remind your dog that he can still do the behavior. If he goes for a long period of time without practice he will “forget”. If your dog has forgotten a behaviour you will have to start all over again at introduction. The good news is that  he should learn it much faster the second time around!