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Okay friends, are you ready to take your marker training to the next level? Shaping will give you the tools to teach essentially any behavior your dog is physically capable of performing. Say what?
Shaping is training by marking and reinforcing successive approximations until you reach your goal behavior. It’s kind of like playing “hotter/colder” with your dog. You have a picture in your head of what the “goal behavior” looks like. By marking behaviors that get closer and closer to that goal, you eventually reach your end behavior.
We talked about this in the Stationing series. If we want to teach our dog to walk over to his mat and lay down on it, we can start by marking the moment the dog looks at the mat, then the moment he moves towards it, then touches it, then puts a paw on it, then two paws, four paws, sits on it, and finally lays down. Viola! It’s not always that smooth, of course, but that’s the general idea.
Aside from being an incredibly handy tool, shaping is an insane brain workout. Dogs that have not been shaped before may struggle initially - many dogs get used to being told exactly what to do, whereas with shaping they have to get creative and try new things! For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep your sessions really short. If your dog gets stumped, end the session with something fun like a game of tug or a treat toss, and then think about how you can set up the session to help them succeed. The way you position your body, the way you deliver your treats, the way the room is set up - all these things will influence your dog’s behavior.
Here are some ideas of what you could use shaping to teach (although again, it's pretty much anything):
I'd love to see you give it a shot! Tag me @pathandpaw on Instagram with your training videos or questions!
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DISCLAIMER: The content of this website and community is based on the research, expertise, and views of each respective author. Information here is not intended to replace your one-on-one relationship with your veterinarian, but as a sharing of information and knowledge to help arm dog parents to make more informed choices. We encourage you to make health care decisions based on your research and in partnership with your vet. In cases of distress, medical issues, or emergency, always consult your veterinarian.