One of the many benefits of clicker training is the fact
that you can “shape” a behavior by rewarding small approximations of the
desired behavior.In other words,
you reward your dog even when he hasn’t done the entire behavior to let him
know he is on the right track.
Foe example, I teach dogs to lay down by luring them using a
treat .Most dogs will follow the
treat into a down position, allowing me to click! And treat them for laying
down.Some dogs, however, won’t
follow a treat all the way into a down position and instead only lower their
heads.With these dogs I will
click! and treat them for lowering their head to follow the treat.After several repetitions of rewarding
a lowered head I will hold out and wait for a more blatant attempt to lie
down.If the dog begins to
stretch his front feet out in order to better follow the treat I will click!
and reward that for a while.Finally, when the dog is reliably stretching out his feet forward I stop
rewarding that and hold out for him to lower himself at least partially to the
ground before offering a click! and treat.
This method known as “shaping” is used widely by Hollywood
trainers to teach dogs and other animals to perform complex chains of
behaviors, such as open the door, pick up an item and take the item to someone.
Shaping works like this: You want your dog to learn to
“twirl” on cue.First you will
want to have an idea of what you want the final trick to look like.You might decide that touching your dog
near his tail might make him look in that direction.When he does anything, whether it is a 180-degree turn or
just the turn of his head in that direction be ready to click! and treat.Click! and treat this several more
times before starting to hold out for a more approximate attempt to twirl.Most likely, your dog will try to work
out what you want him to do.This
is the time to patiently wait for him to offer a more precise behavior.When it happens, click! and treat.
You can use shaping to teach your dog just about
anything!Shaping is a great
technique not only because it is so successful, but because it encourages your
dog to figure things out on his own, like a puzzle.
