As she is still young, we are continuing obedience training to prepare for her public access test, usually taken by assistance dogs at 18 months old.

Alexandra Horowitz, author of the recent “The Year of the Puppy: How Dogs Become Themselves” and a researcher on dog cognition at Barnard College, said that particularly after her year of bringing up a young dog during the pandemic, she questions the need for traditional obedience training for all dogs.

The study did not look at obedience training, but Udell said the study of dogs’ performance on problem solving “suggests that having an authoritative parent or trainer might actually help dogs or other animals be more successful at those sorts of training activities.”

Obedience training can be wonderful and exciting, she said, for some dogs and their humans.

He was especially drawn to dogs — Dobermans in particular — and became a member of the county dog obedience training club, taking part in American Kennel Club competitions at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he was one of only a few Black trainers, according to his memoir.