Shaping in Dog Training: What It Is & How to Be Successful

Shaping is a small branch of dog training commonly utilized by both pet and working dog owners to approximate behaviors by means of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is being utilized in dog training when we are seeing behaviors performed voluntarily by the dog, as opposed to involuntary behaviors (classical conditioning). Over time by adjusting our behavior expectations at an approximate rate, we can almost steer the dog towards the answer, without making it too easy. This method revolves around utilizing the dog’s own thinking to achieve behaviors with as little help as possible. 

For example:

Let’s say we want a puppy to target a mat on the ground with their front paw. As I place the mat on the ground, I will mark “yes” (or with a click, other marker word, etc.,) as they naturally approach to investigate it. After the marker (that has previously been charged appropriately with food or toy rewards), the dog receives the reward, and will make one of two choices:

a.) Disengage from the situation and feed into distractions

OR

b.) Reinvestigate the situation in some manner

Shaping In Dog Training Increases Confidence in The Dog Through Problem Solving

This reinvestigation could come in many ways, ranging from sniffing the mat, to looking at it, to standing on it completely. All of these things could be rewarded, but shaping allows us to approximate results based on what behaviors the dog in front of us is offering. By giving dogs space and freedom to make decisions during shaping games in training, they quickly learn to problem-solve and do so with confidence. With that said, it is vital to have the dog set-up for success before beginning. 

Setting Your Dog Up For Success

To have a successful shaping session, the training space must be reasonable for the stage of training the dog is ready for. This begins by examining the location of your session. Is the space too distracting, or not distracting enough for the goals you have set for the session? Do you have enough space for your dog to work appropriately? If your dog is checking out, ignoring you, or investigating alternative objects, something in the session setup probably needs to change. This could mean creating a smaller training space, removing some distractions, or asking your dog to perform the behavior in a different manner. 

Engagement & Relationship

Once these questions are answered, the next factor is to understand your dog’s engagement level and overall relationship with you. A happy, exciting relationship will feed over into your training sessions, and create a dog that loves to work, especially with motivating rewards being involved (food, toys, etc.,).  It is vital to have a solid engagement level with your dog for any dog training sessions to be most effective.

Some other options for shaping games include the dog going to and walking around a cone (or other object), teaching place, climbing up onto a bench, and other position behaviors such as sit, down, stand, and many more!