what is shaping?
Looking for a fun way to build new behaviors while building your chops as a trainer? Try shaping! Shaping is the process of building a particular behavior gradually using a series of small steps to achieve the final behavior. It is a helpful addition to your training toolkit—especially useful for teaching behaviors that are complex or difficult to train in another manner.
See shaping in action in this video by KPA CTP Meg Sanders that shows Meg’s client teaching a puppy to settle on a mat. In a previous training session, the puppy was taught to make contact with the mat, starting with one paw, two paws, three paws, and, ultimately, four paws on the mat. The video demonstrates the next step, which is reinforcing the puppy for lying down on the mat by tossing a treat each time to reset the behavior. Notice how quickly the puppy catches on and volunteers a down! Once the puppy offers this behavior reliably, the next training step is to add a verbal cue and/or hand signal to the behavior. Voilà! Shaping success!
For more ideas about basic household training, problem-solving, or canine sports, husbandry, and more, check out KPA’s Dog Trainer Comprehensive course!
Happy Training!