Book Review

The Art of Proofing

By Adele Yunck

This book will help you take your training up a notch on virtually every exercise, while ensuring that you and your dog are well prepared for all of the usual and the unusual things we encounter in the ring.

I wouldn’t exactly call this book a “how to” manual, more of a source of inspiration and awareness enhancement.  The author does briefly discuss her training philosophy regarding teaching, chaining, and corrections but she does not preach that you must adhere to these methods.

Her section on “Categories of Proofs” demonstrates the many challenges that our dogs are subjected to at trials, whether those are sights, sounds, smells or social challenges. 

I most defiantly agree with this book’s section on “Progression of Proofs”.  It includes advice on careful introduction of proofs for cautious dogs. It reminds us that we should be prepared for mistakes when we proof, and that proofing exposes weaknesses in foundation training.  It encourages trainers to “…extract the hard part…” of an exercise for focused work, and reminds us not to be afraid of failures in training.

There are useful exercises interspersed throughout the book, particularly the 20 Treat Exercise, which helps shape attention, but also helps to evaluate how well your dog actually is doing with his skills by recording how long it takes him to offer you voluntary attention in a new setting.

There are great ideas for proofing when working on your own at home, and some creative and challenging ideas for class proofing projects. There are LOTS of good ideas on simulating hazards that happen during stays, such as other dogs breaking, approaching, or running around the ring, or dogs in adjacent rings doing retrieves or go outs.  It really makes you think about just how difficult those stays can be!

Throughout the book, the reader is reminded that proofing should build confidence and increase success, and should not scare a dog or cause it to shut down. The compact-sized book with spiral binding will be a valuable addition to your training bag.