Shaping

furrykidmom

Completely Boxer Crazy
Okay. So my boy is 14 months old. We are still loving nose work. We have taken a break from agility and were still doing fly ball until last week. He has started with some people aggression so we are trying to keep him from things that can promote it. A stranger tugging at his harness to get him fired up to take off can be stressful.

So we have started a new class. A shaping class. We started with touch to the hand and have now progressed to an object. I have him going out on his own to the object and touching it with his nose, getting a click for touching it and then running back to me for his treat. This has been so benefical with his recall also. He has suddenly gotten so much better. I have to attribute it to the clicker. I love the clicker and classical conditioning I just cannot seem to coordinate it well. I am always so afraid of screwing it up. He seems ot be getting it better than I am at acknowledging it. LOL

We will later use this shaping class to increase his ball drive so we can go back to fly ball. It is a blast. We both love it. I hate to stop but you do what the behaviorist suggests. Personally, I think the misshap at agility where they left the kids onto the equipment during class is what started all this. It was almost like he was saying "Hey, I am trying to work and learn here and you kids are getting in my way and causing distractions." I did file a complaint and the rules changed.
 

furrykidmom

Completely Boxer Crazy
Incredible positive behavior changes

Shaping has been amazing. The whole world is his stage and I am the center of his universe. Why? Because if you entertain me I pay. He constantly wants to work and frequently we do but only if I initiate it. However, he does seek me out now to check in.

I had him on a long line yesterday at his nose work class. It was at a park doing outside searches. There was a quiet area away from the hides. We worked his object touch where he has to see the object ( a pumpkin on a stick in the ground) He has to leave me and go touch it with his nose. We are to the point where I can name it touch. When I say touch he runs back to me for his treat.

When we finished that exercise I left him on the long line 50 feet and gave him free reign. Anytime I called him to come he immediately came back to me. Someone in the class said but what happens if you drop the line. I said we do this off lead in a fenced in ball park and his recall has been consistent with distant distractions. I left the long line on him and put him in a sit and wait. He learned this for agility and at shaping. We are increasing the duration time of a sit. I walked a substantial distance from him at least twenty five car lengths, after two relatively close and successful recalls. I called and he came bounding to me happy as all get out. People were impressed. I am impressed. This shaping class has made him a new dog. So focused. We use the opportunity to work constantly. This morning we did touch in the car on the way to daycare. My husband was driving and I was placing my hand in the back for him to touch. We also worked sustained downs while in a moving car. Anytime and any place.

I have stopped putting down his meals for him. he has to work for all food. Now I have two large bowls that I have placed together. The top bowl has tiny holes in it. Between the bowls are his Birch qtips. I place a few pieces of his kibble in the bowl and hide the bowl and then tell him to hunt. When he finds the bowl I continue to rain kibble into it so that he sticks with the source. This made a nice difference in his work yesterday at class. I really need his head to stick with the source so I can positively call my alert.

My boy is a pet. He is co owned and may eventually be bred once he passes all his health testing and his breeder decides. To her he is breeding stock. To me he is just my boy. He is so much fun and that is why we do what we do. It has created an incredible bond between the two of us. I love to watch him work and he loves to work. We both get exercise and exhausted. And an exhausted dog does not get into trouble. Because he does not have to seek out his own entertainment. That is not to say he is perfect. He still has more energy than I ever imagined. I wanted a working European boy. I got him. He reminds me of a German Shepherd dog in a Boxer body and a Boxer personality. Thanks for letting me share here. I hope this info helps someone else in their training.
 

johann

Boxer Insane
I love shaping classes. They often look foolish to other people, but you can really use the techniques to teach anything.
 
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