Dog Community

What is "Shaping"

Posted : 1/18/2007 12:35:30 PM

I've seen this term used here on the board a few times and I think I get the general just of what it means, but could anybody give me a definition or a few examples (or an informative link)?

TIA,

houndlove

Posted : 1/18/2007 12:47:29 PM

Here's a great link: [linkhttp://www.behaviorlogic.com/id23.html]http://www.behaviorlogic.com/id23.html[/link]

Aside from all that training stuff, I also find that shaping is pretty much the most fun I can have with my dogs.

mrv

Posted : 1/18/2007 1:40:22 PM

shaping is successive approximation (I know that helped a bunch). Shaping the process of seeing the "end product" sitting far away from you as an example and slowly rewarding only behaviors that come closer and closer to that end product. So in the beginning you reward the sit that is all but touching you,,,then the sit that is 2 inches, ,,,, 4,,,,,12,,,,, 2 feet etc. Once you have a further distance, you would stop rewarding anything that is closer than the farthest distance.

human example the "hot" and "cold" game you played as a kid.

Chuffy

Posted : 1/18/2007 1:48:06 PM

What do you mean "as a child"??????? I love that game!

houndlove

Posted : 1/18/2007 1:52:22 PM

This game is actually played a lot at clicker seminars and conferences to demonstrate to beginners what shaping is all about. But instead of "hot" or "cold" a clicker is usually used to mark. There's no talking allowed.

If I ever encountered anyone in person who asked me about clicker training this is the first thing I'd do with them.

spiritdogs

Posted : 1/18/2007 1:56:09 PM

ORIGINAL: houndlove
If I ever encountered anyone in person who asked me about clicker training this is the first thing I'd do with them.

I do this at the beginning of my "Tricks & Games With Dogs" class! It really gives people a nice perspective on the "language barrier" that exists between us and the dogs, too.

Karin Rex

Posted : 1/19/2007 12:50:24 PM

Thanks everybody, for your replies. I have one additional question...can you do shaping without the use of a clicker?

TIA

houndlove

Posted : 1/19/2007 1:06:59 PM

Well, a clicker is just a conditioned reinforcer and event marker. Marine mammal trainers use whistles (better heard underwater) and some clicker trainers will use a voice marker (though you have to be really on the ball to be sure to say the word the same way every time and to be careful of your timing--it takes a lot of skill). People with skittish dogs may use a clicky pen or the top of a snapple bottle.

I can't imagine doing shaping without some kind of marker. The dog needs to know what tiny little new thing they've done is being rewarded. When shaping a new behavior, the steps toward it can be pretty minute and without a short, clear marker the dog will never know what you're rewarding or not rewarding.

bunni

Posted : 1/19/2007 2:06:30 PM

I'm no expert in training but when I teach a puppy to ride a skateboard I don't know how I'd do it without the clicker. I suppose I could use a word but the clicker really seems to make a difference. It always gets their attention and it's not a sound they ever hear except in training. A sit is easy enough to train without a clicker (although I usually use one) but for any chain of behavior I think the clicker makes a big difference.