Shaping is both art and science. To shape a behavior means that you break it down into its component parts, teaching the dog each step towards the end goal. Shaping can either be free or lured. Free shaping means that the dog offers behaviors without being prompted. In lure shaping, a particular action or behavior is solicited by luring the dog into the desired position. Shaping, by definition, involves selecting behaviors by clicking and treating them as the dog progresses toward our desired goal. Shaping is the process by which we move toward the end goal, by selecting behavior that is moving in the correct direction.

How Shaping Works

Some of the science of shaping comes from understanding how dogs learn and how to reach our end goal. This requires some practice, and perhaps some coaching from an experienced trainer. Being able to know what behaviors your dog has to do to reach the end behavior is crucial in order to know what to click and treat and what to ignore.

The art of shaping lies in knowing the dog well enough to be able to give accurate information. Sometimes, by withholding the click and waiting, we give the dog more information about what we want than if we kept clicking and treating the same behavior over and over again. Becoming skilled at training means knowing when to give more information and when to wait and let the dog figure it out. The more of a creative thinker the dog is, the more behavior he will offer us and the more behavior we will have to choose from. It's no fun to train a dog that just sits there waiting to be told what to do.

Dogs that are not very creative can be taught to be creative, but it definitely takes some practice. Set up training situations in which your dog has to make choices, and reward the choices you like. When your dog makes an incorrect choice, ignore it and wait for what you want. Prevent your dog from rewarding himself with the wrong choice, but don't punish wrong choices. Reinforce generously all correct choices by using a clicker to mark the right behaviors.

Use lures sparingly to keep your Golden from getting too dependent on their presence. Rely on them only to get the behavior started, and stop using them as soon as possible. Only click and treat one behavior, until the dog is offering it consistently. Once a behavior is offered consistently, delay the click so he will try something new.

This sixteen-month-old male and five-year-old female, like most Goldens, love to swim.

The Rules of Shaping Behavior

Shaping a behavior involves certain rules that help the dog figure out how to get rewarded. First of all, remember that the click is a contract between you and your dog. When you click, you must treat. Even if you click the wrong behavior, it is very important to keep your contract with your dog and pay up with a treat.

Shaping a behavior is easier if you know what the individual steps are to the end goal. For instance, say your end goal is to have your Golden Retriever find his bed from anywhere in the house and lie down in it on command. You need to make a list of all the steps your dog would need to do in order to accomplish this goal. The steps can involve a combination of luring (leading the dog with a food treat) and free shaping (waiting for the dog to offer behavior), but the steps must progress toward the end goal in a logical manner.

Dogs learn more slowly and become dependent upon lures if you use them for too long. In general, you'll want to use a lure just to get the behavior started. Then stop using lures, and wait and see if your Golden will offer the behavior on his own. This can be hard for the trainer, because we all want to jump in and help a dog that is confused, but it is a crucial step in teaching your dog to think for himself. He'll be a better learner if he has to figure it out on his own. If he's thinking for himself, you'll have a Golden that does what you want because he knows the behavior — not because you have a pocketful of treats.

Another aspect of shaping that is critical for success is progress. If you click the same behavior over and over, you will never progress to the end goal. In general, once the dog is offering a behavior consistently, you'll want to stop clicking and treating it so that he will try something else. The absence of the click tells the dog that his behavior is no longer accurate, that he must try something new.

If you don't have the behavior broken down into enough steps, and the next step you are looking for is too big a leap from what he is doing, you will get a confused dog. Confused dogs do one of several things: They bark, they leave, or they do every behavior they know hoping that you will change your mind. If you find that your Golden seems to get frustrated with you when you delay the click, it is probably that you are looking for too big a leap in behavior and need to make it easier for him to succeed.