This page is a component of the Glossary of the Dog Science, CBC
Dog Training Workshop, and an element of the Dog Science Network
Go to the index of the Glossary of Terms
Shaping
Shaping is a a behavioral procedure in which you gradually change your subject's behavior from what it currently is to what you want it to be. The general idea of shaping is to take the response or responses that your subject is currently capable of, and then slowly, over time, stretching and building on that incrementally until, step-by-step, that which your subject can do gradually develops into that which you want him to be able to do.
For all of the more evolved species of animal, including dogs, all complex behavior is given life gradually through shaping. It is the same with humans. All new behavior and certainly all elaborate behavior comes into being as a result of shaping. Athletic, criminal, musical, violent, mathematical, really, any type of extremely complex behavior you'd care to name, including all types of skill development.
Shaping, which is also called the procedure of successive approximations, is an operant procedure.
Below you will find more information on shaping featured on two pages from our sister site, barkingdogs.net
- Shaping
This page lays out the rules that govern shaping procedures. - The relationship between dog attacks and the tolerance of belligerent barking
This page explains how dogs can be unintentionally shaped into vicious behavior over time.