Shaping Behaviors 101

There are several ways we can mold the behaviors we wish to see our dogs exhibit. Depending on what is needing to be taught, the temperament and ability to learn from the dog, etc, choosing one method over another can open up the dog to different ways of learning.

A sound or word is ascribed a meaning (just as in the dictionary, a word has a definition). Dogs don’t know English, so we must teach them what words or queues mean and what action they must take in response to that sound. “YES” means nothing to a dog. But if I constantly pop a treat into the dog’s mouth every time I say “YES,” that word now has a meaning: the dog gets a treat. In essence, marker training “marks” a behavior with a sound or word. This principle can be applied with clickers, too.

IMPORTANT: make sure that when you verbalize a command, it is followed up with the expected result. For instance, if you say “YES!” to the dog and do not reward it, you will make that word not have a meaning any longer. “YES” should mean a reward is coming every single time when it’s said. If you tell the dog to sit, don’t give the dog an opportunity to blow you off by walking away or trying to play. Enforce it by luring with food, or leash pressure, but don’t let that command become nothing. The dog shouldn’t have a choice to make a bad decision. We want the dog to see the correct picture every single time. This builds reliability and a solid foundation for obedience.

Marker vocabulary. You’ll want to formulate a vocabulary that makes sense for you and doesn’t change. If your release word is “okay!” don’t change it to “free!” all of a sudden. If your command to get off of furniture is “off” and your command for the dog to lay down is “down,” then don’t use the word “down” when wanting the dog off of furniture. Set the dog up for success by being clear with the dog. Also, consider your tone of voice – if you say “YES!” in an excited way once then “yes…” in a boring way, it’s almost like two different words. Try to keep your tones consistent. This is why clickers can be helpful because they eliminate our human vocal inflection.

Luring is one way of shaping behaviors that involves no pressure. It focuses on programming the dog with markers (classical conditioning – see below on marker training) while also shaping motor memory. Luring can be done with or without vocal commands. I prefer to start without vocalization – we as people focus so much on words, but we forget the animal doesn’t know what we’re saying. If we’re successful in communicating what we want without words, integrating words later on will be easy. The key to luring is to keep the food item at the dog’s nose, letting him lick at it and follow your hand but without consuming the food item. While the dog is learning, do not implement any corrections until the dog KNOWS what is expected and can execute behaviors reliably with verbal or physical queues.

Pressure can be physical pressure (via leash and collar), social pressure (body language and positioning), or environmental pressures (noises, textures, smells, sights), that sway the actions of the dog to act in opposition to the pressures being presented. For training, a combination of leash and social pressure is used. “Pressure on” is when pressure is applied continuously in order to make the dog uncomfortable enough to act differently; in essence, the dog “turns off” the pressure. For example, if you are teaching sit: applying upward tension on the leash is uncomfortable for the dog (pressure is on). If the dog plants its bottom on the ground to avoid the pressure, you reward him by releasing tension on the leash (pressure is off). The dog will learn compliance by his desire to turn off pressure and its natural oppositional reflex. The release of pressure is in and of itself a form of a reward. This binary response (on / off) is very helpful in programming the dog to respond in many different behaviors (operant conditioning).

This concept may take longer to train, but the benefit is a behavior the dog has cemented into its mind. Let’s use this scenario for explanation sake: your goal is to have your dog walk into its crate. With free-shaping, in essence, you wait for the dog to happen upon, look at, or touch something you’re attempted for them to engage with, and when they happen to preform this behavior without you prompting or encouraging it, you mark it (marker training) and reward. With this scenario, let’s say your dog just so happens to walk past its crate door and the moment it does, you mark and reward the dog. At first the dog doesn’t understand what it was rewarded for. It may go back to looking at the crate without a second thought, then bam! You mark and reward again. Suddenly the dog thinks “this isn’t a coincidence… what if I do that again?” Eventually, with much patience, you’ll start to see a dog actively engaged and learning what it is that is yielding a reward. As you see progress and comprehension, you can move forward toward your goal by withholding rewards until the dog attempts to guess at what will reward him next. He may eventually place a paw onto the crate. You mark and reward that action now. Gradually, you’ll build up to where the dog is eagerly rushing into the crate for a reward. This is all done without any sort of physical pressure or verbal prompts.