Beginner shaping - getting a dog to start offering behaviours

Fish is reluctant to offer behaviours so I'm spending a few minutes rewarding him often for any minor movement. His head quickly becomes more mobile and I'm able to maintain a high rate of reinforcement even though I'm waiting for larger movements.

I get in 27 clicks in 110 seconds - one every 4 seconds. That's pretty slow but it did the trick - kept him In The Game and got him moving.

It's fun to watch for all the many, many motions he made that I missed!

Using Extinction to get Fluency

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Stitch has Down on the brain lately so I use a bit of extinction to get her thinking about what I'm saying rather than just blithely offering me something I might want.

Another good shaping video

Here's another good shaping video from Lauren McDermott. She's shaping Reef to
stop on an agility contact with one foot on the yellow. Watch the steps they go
through - first any contact with the yellow board, then paws on the yellow
board, then any back paw on, then a back paw on with a front paw off, then only
any or both back paws on. Then one wonderful moment (2:40, I think I remember)
where Reef spontaneously BACKS UP to put back paws on without putting front paws
on first. I actually shouted YES! (my husband and Stitch both looked at me
strangely).

Sue Eh?