Trick Training Strategies

The best tricks are the things your dog already does! When your dog does something cute or funny, say "Yes!" and give your dog a treat. Your dog will be more likely to repeat the behavior in the future. This method is called capturing.

Youth will use luring almost exclusively in obedience classes. They will hold a treat, called a lure, in front of their dog's nose and move it to where they want their dog to follow. Sometimes the lure is called bait and the method is called baiting.

We don't usually suggest youth use molding to train their dog. When youth use molding, they push or move their dog's body to where they want it to be. Many dogs resist or dislike molding so it is a slow way to train. Hard stacking in showmanship uses molding, while free stacking uses shaping or free shaping.

Dogs don't usually do a behavior the way we imagine it the first time. Instead we need to reward approximations of the behavior you want the dog to do. An approximation is anything that is close-enough to the desired behavior. As the dog starts to figure out what behaviors are worth repeating, the trainer changes the criteria to be closer to the behavior they imagine. We call this shaping. When we don't give a dog any instructions of what to do, we call it free shaping. The video to the left is an excellent demonstration of free shaping.