The ability to perform a trained behaviour in a range of different situations, not just the one it was originally taught in.
Generalisation is the ability to perform a trained behaviour in a range of different situations, not just the one it was originally taught in. Dogs don't naturally generalise well. A dog who sits perfectly in the kitchen may act as though they've never heard the cue at all in a busy park.
This isn't the dog being stubborn or forgetful. From the dog's point of view, a cue given in a new location, with new smells, sounds, and distractions, can genuinely seem like a different situation altogether.
Building generalisation means deliberately practising a behaviour across different locations, with different distractions, different people giving the cue, and even different handler positions, such as sitting down rather than standing. Each new variation helps the dog understand that the cue means the same thing everywhere.
A behaviour that's rock solid at home might need to be retaught, almost from scratch, in a new environment, gradually building back up to full reliability there too.
Assuming a dog is being disobedient when a well known cue fails in a new environment is a common misunderstanding. It's usually a sign the behaviour hasn't yet been generalised to that context, rather than a training failure.
Dogs learn in a very context specific way at first. A cue practised only at home may not yet be generalised to other locations, which is why it can seem to disappear once you're somewhere new.
Practise the same cue in a variety of locations, gradually increasing distractions, and involve different people giving the cue where possible. Small, gradual changes tend to work better than jumping straight to the most difficult environment.
Yes, in the early stages. However, dogs tend to generalise faster with practice, since they start to learn the broader pattern that cues mean the same thing regardless of context.
