How do you celebrate National Cat Day? At Karen Pryor Academy (KPA), we celebrate by teaching our cats new behaviors, of course! Cats can be trained easily with shaping, the process of using a series of gradual steps to build toward a final behavior. With shaping, you can teach a cat any behavior that the cat is physically capable of doing, from sitting, spinning, and stationing on a mat to riding on a skateboard!
How to teach your dog to drop their toy on cue so you can keep the game going with them.
How to teach your dog to drop their toy on cue so you can keep the game going with them.
Shaping is the process of breaking down a behavior into small steps and reinforcing each small step as you work toward the final goal behavior. It is a great tool for teaching complex behaviors, as well as for increasing confidence in dogs that are hesitant to try new things.
As trainers, we need to be able to depend on our dogs’ ability to respond to the correct verbal cue and not to other stimuli. Verbal cue discrimination training is an important skill; it ensures that your dog responds only to the correct verbal cue and not to other words. It is particularly useful in dog sports, such as canine freestyle, where many verbal cues are given and the dog must differentiate between them.
Shaping, teaching a new behavior by breaking it down in small increments, is an essential tool for teaching complex (and often useful) behaviors. In this video, KPA CTP Megan Ramirez uses shaping to teach her dog Rim Shot to flip a light switch—in just a three-minute training session!
Teach the “down” behavior with positive reinforcement.
Play a fun game with luring, shaping, and marking.
Shaping, the process of teaching a new behavior by breaking it down in small increments, is a great way to encourage creativity and focus in animals as well as an essential tool for teaching complex behaviors. In this video, Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) Dog Trainer Professional (DTP) student Shelby Mildenberger uses shaping to teach her dog Eddy a head dip, one of the first behaviors in the DTP and Dog Trainer Comprehensive courses. Shelby clicks and reinforces Eddy for any downward head movement. At first, she reinforces for small movements, but once Eddy is reliably moving his head she rewards greater movements. In no time, Eddy is fully (and enthusiastically!) dipping his head!
How to add a cue to a foot target to object behavior using an easy button.
