The Four Stages of Learning

It is useful to think of learning as a sequence of 4 stages:

1. Acquisition (acquiring the behavior- what do you want me to do? Learning what to do and how to do it)
2. Fluency (the behavior is automatically performing the behavior in the context it was taught in)
3. Generalization (the dog can do the behavior in a variety of contexts and environments)
4. Maintenance (the behavior stays in the dog's repertoire through occasional tune-ups and refreshers, so the reward history of the behavior stays high enough over time to maintain it as something the dog wants to do).

After training the behavior, once you're past that stage, you'd test the fluency of a behavior by tracking the number of times the dog successfully performs the behavior in the environments in which it has been trained and practiced.  

Dogs don't generalize very well-- we tend to assume too much and think that just because a dog can perform a behavior well and consistently in the environments where he's been trained that he can also do it reliably and consistently in new environments.  This is an error on our part.  You'd be surprised what might seem REALLY different to your dog in a new environment with new distractions and smells that could easily throw him off his game.  Practicing in MANY different environments makes (over time) a dog that is more resilient to these changes and who will be able to generalize better.  I see many people teach their dog something at home, and go out into the world overconfident that the dog will perform in a new situation.  Don't be that person.  It's not fair to the dog.  Consider each new environment to be risky in terms of whether your dog can perform the behaviors you want-- remember, your dog is doing the best he can given the training you've given him and the environment you've now put him in.     

Even though your dog may know what to do and how to do it, you as the trainer must continually ensure that the behavior is maintained at an acceptable level of performance. This maintains the dog's motivation to continue to do the behavior correctly. How much reviewing and practicing is needed will depend on the dog.  My dogs have always loved doing what I call "training tune-ups" where we go through the many behaviors they know how to do.  You can see a look of smug confidence on their faces- they enjoy being good at this.  And they get rewarded.  I deposit enough rewards into their "behavior bank account" to keep them enthusiastic about wanting to work with me. 

#training