Need Help With Shaping!

[driven]

All of my dogs are familiar with the clicker but they do not understand the shaping method. How do I teach them how it works? Obviously I am wanting them to learn to think on thier own by teaching them this and to try to figure out what I want. My dogs stick with doing whatever I clicked for instead of expanding on it and trying to figure out what to do next. They get totally confused if I stop rewarding the command I clicked for and wait for them to do more. How do I change this and teach them that once I stop clicking for something I told them was a good thing that that means I want them to keep going and try to figure out what to do next?

Thank you everyone who replies!!

 

[Jean Cote]

Hello,

Have you read the Shaping lessons located in level 6? They explain in greater details how it works and how to do it. Basically instead of reinforcing a single behavior, you reinforce a series of smaller behavior which eventually lead to the behavior that you want.

Try the put a paw on box shaping lesson which is in level6.

 

[Jean Cote]

Whoops they're actually in Level 5.

 

[sarhaspups]

Jean is the BEST shaping king here.... pick his brain.

 

[Jean Cote]

LOL I wouldn't say the best .. there are a lot of professional dog trainers on here. I just do it as a hobby.