Shaping Dog Behaviour

Shaping dog behaviour uses Capturing to train advanced behaviours the dog would not normally produce on its own. Capturing is a training technique method in which you wait for the dog to perform the action (e.g. sit) then reward it when and as it happens. The use of rewards make the behaviour happen more frequently, enabling you to then add a word command and/or hand signal to it.

In shaping, instead of capturing the full behaviour (“sit”) you capture the successive steps towards the final behaviour.

Here is an example to train your dog to ring a bell:

1. Place a bell where you would like it to be (e.g., next to the door, to signal to go out to toilet).
2. Start the training session near the bell area. Wait and observe!
3. If your dog “looks” at the bell – mark and reward.  You can also use a clicker instead of a word.
4. Reward a few looks at the bell.  Then raise your criteria for rewards, now the dog has to take one step towards the bell to get the treat.
5. Be patient! Some dogs may walk directly to the bell, while other s will take a while to figure out what it is they need to do. 
6. If your GSD moves a little bit towards the bell – mark and reward. Even if it was only one step, it’s a start in the right direction.
7. As your GSD improves, raise the criteria and only reward as he/she moves closer to the bell.
8. Once you reach this stage you need to understand the concept of a “random reward”. The first few times your GSD does the desired behaviour you must mark and reward every single time. However, after a few successful attempts , you should start randomly reducing the rewards, in a way in which your GSD cannot predict when he/she is going to receive food or not. This is an integral concept in shaping dog behaviour. By randomly rewarding, your GSD will keep on trying. When you raise the criteria you need to reward every single time, then randomly as the GSD masters that particular step/phase of the training. This process is repeated each time the criteria is raised.
9. Once your GSD touching the bell consistently, start rewarding only the action when he/she makes the bell ring loudly and not the feeble ones. 
10. Finally, add a command by only rewarding if your hound rings the bell after you prompted with the cue. If you want him/her to ring the bell to toilet outside, then use going outside as the reward instead of a food treat.