Real World Environment
Have you ever taught your dog to “come” to you in your home, but then found that she doesn’t respond when you’re at the dog park or at a friend’s house? Dogs are not particularly good at generalizing information until they have been taught this skill, but once they learn it, they become fairly adept at applying it.  That means that a dog that only comes on cue at home has not learned that “come” means the same thing on the sidewalk or at the park.  Generalization training involves taking the dog to different places and varying the surrounding environment when teaching and reinforcing cues.  This is one reason why the real-world environment at PetSmart is so effective:  your dog learns to generalize the cues faster because the surroundings are so different and varied.  If your dog learns to come or sit in an environment filled with smells and sounds that intrigue dogs the most, you can be sure she’s truly learned it!