Proofing Obedience

As a trainer you develop a much different perspective of dogs and training than the average pet owner. I recently received a call from an individual, seeking training to teach a dog various assistance tasks for a family member with some disabilities. The goal was for their dog to 'simply' pick up things, fetch the phone so this family member could call if needing help, and to offer a platform for the family member to haul themselves up. Please note the word "simple" here.

While a dog that is trained to do such things can be a tremendous aid to a person with a disability, the level of training needed to accomplish those "simple" tasks is very time consuming, detailed, and precise. The caller had been told by other trainers that this type of specialty training would require months, and would be best served by having the dog in a training facility where a trainer could work with the dog for several hours each day. I concurred this would be the best option, and certainly not something that would lend itself to in home training visits.

I'm sure there are many folks reading this article thinking, "well my dog can fetch the phone, or pick up my paper, shoes, etc.", and I'm sure that's true. But the majority of home trained dogs who can perform such tasks often see these tasks as games, not work. The net result is often something short of reliable performance, and not adequate when a dog's work serves a critical purpose.

This brings me to the point of this post - proofing. Proofing is the idea of testing a dog's understanding and reliability regarding learned training or tasks. For a service dog that needs to retrieve a phone, proofing would test the dog to make sure he/she could not only do the command, but do it 1st time and regardless of distractions. Getting the phone for somebody who fell can't be optional, so a trainer would need to make certain the dog will do this even with distractions - maybe while eating, playing, or with somebody at the door. When help arrives, is the dog trained to allow strangers to enter and to stay out of the way?

In typical obedience for pet dogs, the same concept of proofing holds. I see dozens of dogs every month that already know how to sit, but they don't generally do it when the door bell rings. Or they may come for a treat, but not when they're outside or when they're playing or chasing a rabbit or neighbor dog. Real training is more than just helping a dog understand the meaning of a command, but testing reliability so that obedience can be useful in daily life. A reliably trained dog is not only a beautiful thing, he/she is a wonderful companion that can share in most of the activities of the owner's life.