Training by Luring
For simple behaviors such as “sit” or “down,” lure-based training is usually the most straightforward approach. In this kind of training, a treat is used to lure the dog into the desired position. With repetition, he learns to perform the behavior simply upon seeing the hand signal. Then a verbal cue can be attached to the hand signal.
Training by Capturing
Training by capturing means that, rather than manipulating your dog in some way to perform the behavior (like luring him to sit), you wait for him to voluntarily perform the behavior and then mark it (either with a “yes!” or a click). An example of a behavior that might be difficult to train in a way other than capturing is sneezing, which is usually a voluntary behavior. To capture it would be to click whenever your pup happens to sneeze and then give him a treat. As always, behaviors that are reinforced (rewarded) are more likely to be repeated, so over time your dog is more likely to sneeze because he’s been reinforced for it in the past. Then you can attach a verbal cue to it.
Training through Shaping
Shaping is a training technique in which successive approximations of a (usually complex) behavior are reinforced until the goal behavior is accomplished. A simple example could be the “are you shy?” behavior. The complete behavior would be for your dog to put his head on the floor between his paws. Start with your dog in a down. Click him for a slight head duck, the head bobbing down just a bit from level. As always, behaviors that are reinforced (rewarded) are more likely to be repeated, so your pup will start to duck his head more often, but in some of the repetitions he’ll duck a bit lower than others. Once it’s become a consistent behavior to duck, start clicking only for those lower head bobs. You’ll notice that your dog will start to bob his head lower and lower. At some point, click only for those bobs where his jaw actually touches the floor, even if just for a moment. Do you see how we’ve shaped this behavior just by selecting for successive approximations? The key, though, is not to jump to the next level of performance until your dog is consistently offering the current level, or you will get a weak behavior that is easily lost.
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