Common Misconceptions Around Shaping: Why You May Find Dog Training Frustrating #261 #podcast

🐶Check out Podcast Episode 5 and 259 where I go into detail about Shaping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-AGTSLs0A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx4kmQMTKW8&t=1s 🎓 Play “ItsYerChoice” 💯% free: dogsthat.com/y/261/iycsummit 👉 And Crate Games is the fun and fast way dogs learn appropriate places to be: dogsthat.com/y/261/crategames

Wow! This is like a Recallers Masterclass❤🐾 I'm going to bookmark this for my training journal and watch it again (and again). Thank you!

This is a super episode! I've been in Recallers for years, along with Home School the Dog and Wag Nation. I've had a lot of successes with shaping a wide variety of behaviors in my now 5 year old dog, but today, my AHA! moment had to do with successive approximations. Back in the good old days when I was in college, I took a lot of psychology classes and learned about BF Skinner, etc. Unbeknownst to me, the concept of successive approximations was lodged in my brain. Realizing that the concept was lurking stealthily in my head was amazing! What a great way to begin the podcast! Now I understand why to reward "something different" and how to use "behavioral blocks." These two things explain so much! Thanks so much!

Wow, amazing episode! We adopted a 6 year old rescue dog a month ago that was abandoned on the street and was timid, afraid and has separation anxiety. I've been watching and implementing a lot of the training I've learned in your videos, including Home School the Dog. Our girl has gone from a timid dog to a more confident and eager learner (she wouldn't even take treats the first week and now loves to work for treats)! I am amazed at the results in a month! I feel a bit like I have been watching but not totally understanding everything I'm doing- but this particular episode made it crystal clear for me- using those core blocks that the dog has learned to shape further behaviors! Thanks you so much! Looking forward to more progress with my dog!

This is a great episode! Thinning about building blocks really changes everything. We are in crate games and HSTD! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ziggy’s blocks are seat, down, stand, jump, search, cook, hand target, paws on blanket or block, Reinforcement Zone, Hot Zone, understanding (and still growing) IYC, waiting for a release cue, Grab, bring me, Come here (super important), we are working on Go smell and Go play and we are trying to work on calm. I still have some doubts on how to shape calmness, even having seen your previous podcasts. Because Ziggy does is a high drive border collie and she sometimes guards the blanket or gets immediately excited. So my question is how could we teach calm and relaxation without a chill mat for dogs with resource guarding? Thank you for this and all the other podcasts!

Can you demonstrate what shaping looks like for AKC CGC exercises? Heel, sit, down, stand, stay, halt, right turn, left turn, about turn, distance recall with sit, etc.

I would love a video on how to shape foundational obedience such as sit, down, heel, etc.

Thank you for another awesome episode. I love this and answers so many of my questions and my gut feeling about successive approximation with my own dog. He gets frustrated and confused and will start offering whatever else he knows or what could get him a cookie/reward. I just don't know how else to do things. I also see it with my client's dogs and humans. I'm looking forward to learning more and how to make things better for my dog. A question I have for you is how do I help clients who insist their dogs are stubborn, stupid, etc. I try to help them see things differently but it comes down to "it's the breed" "they're stupid" "they are SO stubborn" and I don't know how to gently work through this with dog owners. I work for a R+ dog training facility and I really want to help dogs and their people the best I can. I would also like to ask if you have resources for those typical what people would say are "stubborn breeds" unfortunately my area is experiencing a BOOM in Great Pyrenees and Live Stock Guardian Dogs. Rescues, oops litters, back yard breeders, etc. I suppose this ties into the first question but I feel the approach needs to be different with these breeds due to their nature. I have a Great Pyrenees mix myself that I rescued and I've worked VERY hard with him and your methods are the only ones that worked for us. I would just love to read more on how handle clients and the approaches for some of these "I was bred to think for myself" type dog breeds. Thank you so much. <3

Worth watching more than once! I'm having success teaching the "Selfie" trick owing to my dog's understanding of Hop It Up and Paws Up. From there, it is just a matter of fine tuning these behaviors for the new trick. Other behavioral building blocks? Recallers, I'm looking at you! I have joined another trick training group and Recallers games have given us the foundations we need for so many new and fun tricks. Great episode, looking forward to the next in this series 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

This is brilliant - thank you! I'm just starting to shape my young dog on the competition obedience exercises. I'm finding it really hard because I changed from lure/coercion training with previous dogs to HS and Recallers with this dog and I've been trying to figure out how to apply Recallers thinking when I don't have step by step instructions! Off to make my behaviour block list ...

What an incredibly helpful episode!! I'm a new HSTD member and this was just great. Weve got a sit and down with our 6mth old mini schnauzer and her IYC is awesome... Started with hand targets (but I'm still working on my mechanics 😅). Thanks team xxx

Super helpful! Could you consider a podcast in which you show ways to shape an eventual "pick up the basket" trick? Shaping worked well for touching basket handle with snoot, but then utterly stalled, so I switched to working on just "take it" for holding in the mouth a silicone stick (about the same diameter as the basket handle). This mannerly adult dog does not like to mouth non-food objects and doesn't yet play much with toys EXCEPT soccer ball retrieve and tug. That means no household destruction, which we appreciate, but taking things in his mouth is not a natural go-to for him for shaping. We started with a slitted toy snake with food inside, a genius idea from a local trainer, then swapped for a silicone stick. We are trying to shape toward longer holds. We're at the point of a reliable, open-mouth "take it" with some tooth contact and sometimes even 2-3 light teeth "chatters," whether the stick is held or laid across objects, and in various positions. No soap if it's on the floor. He won't pick it up, which was a great idea for extending the hold, but hasn't worked. No real hold yet. I will start to video my shaping efforts tonight, per your suggestions in this podcast. (In a parallel vein, I'm echoing the silicone stick shaping with the cue "take it" for beloved night time dental treat and nap time duck leg. That's getting a firmer but still very loose hold, followed by joyful consumption.) Dog had a good dental cleaning a few months ago, so we believe no mouth pain or dental issues. He just doesn't WANT to mouth or hold an object without a good reason -- and I don't blame him! Gotta give him good reasons.

Questions for future episodes: When in the shaping process do you add cues? Could you send ( or do you already have?) a chart of your most common hand and corresponding verbal cues? HSTD? Rio's behavioral building blocks: Sit, down, "take a seat"- hot zone verbal with pointing hand cue, hand target, search, IYC. Aha! Lightbulb moment 🥳. All of the beginner games in HSTD are coming together for me.

Great podcast, it made me realize (again) that all my training while following Recallers (and before) has not been shaping, and I still don't 'get how to get it right'. I am 'showing' Betty what I want, with just about everything you mentioned that isn't part of shaping eg voice, body language, finger pointing..... added to that, although she is good and getting better at IYC she still knows when I have treats or toys on me and looks (but not tries to take), that way rather than having focus on what she is doing/offering. What other resources will help me get my head around how to shape correctly.

Thanks for this Susan. I have bought HSTD, Wag Nation and Crate Games to get ready for my new puppy in March. Excited and a bit nervous.

Great episode Susan, as always. Got me thinking about how I work with my dog, I think without realising I was doing too much behaviour approximations and my dog was getting very frustrated. I've moved to using previouly learnt behaviours and it does work better for sure. But I do have a question - using the selfie trick just as an example, my dog has a great paws up and I've built on that to the selfie position, but I'm stuck with the cue in case I 'poison' the paws up cue and have her think that has been replaced by the selfie cue. Can you explain how to ensure both cues are still valid, one for the old behaviour and one for the new, without dilution or confusion please?

Yes please- frantic or over zealous dogs that get soooooooooo excited about training and treats they can’t focus. I have 6 aussies. But one is extra “wound up” I’m not sure running a mile would change it. Advice on how to chill out a dog IN a training session.

I joined your recallers program back in November, and have found it to be extremely helpful. All my dogs have basic behavioral blocks in sit down stay Market bucket training, and such what I have found to be an interesting challenge is working with my latest dog, a great Pyrenees Anatolian shepherd mix at 11 months he is 100 pounds of love. However, some of the exercises such as moving quickly back-and-forth for him are more difficult because there’s just so much more of him. My question in shaping is how to address the fact that he hast to move so much more, and it’s difficult for him to train change direction and some of the shaping behaviors. Have pointers for me. I would be so happy to get them. Thank you.

I saw your dog do a spin and then reverse up to sit in between your legs. My dog has a 'back' cue (but I have only done this when standing in front of her. She also has a spin cue but again with me in front of her. How do I connect the two with shaping?

Thank you for the super duper episode! How do you shape in agility? I try use shaping as much as possible (works the brain so great enrichment!) but always struggle how to shape agility cues, for example left and right.