The Difference Between Shaping and Luring in Dog Training

To shape or to lure, what do each entail? Positive reward-based training techniques use each depending on what the trainer is trying to communicate to the dog. Shaping trains a thinking dog. Luring tempts the dog into position with the use of a food reward.

Shaping is a term used to describe a clicker training concept. Clicker training uses a tool, which makes a sharp, short, clear double click sound. There are various types of clickers. Clicker training is a behavioral method used with all types of animals and in simplest terms marks the behavior wanted and rewards that behavior. Clicker training is a safe, effective, humane and non-confrontational way to train an animal.

With this understanding, shaping uses the clicker to quickly mark an action the animal is performing. The trainer does this without talking, but instead using the sound of the clicker to activate learning and by clicking and marking the action with the sound. An example of shaping is putting a box on the floor and playing a game called 101 things to do with a box.

Put the box on the floor and click and treat everything and anything the animal does with the box. This is called shaping. Shaping breaks down the behavior into small steps. The trainer would click the dog looking at the box, then walking toward the box, then touching the box with nose or paw or both. This is described as slowly increasing the criteria. The animal in turn will become more and more creative with what they do with the box and a thinking animal is created. The click means a reward is coming for an action performed and becomes an earned reinforcement given for a specific behavior, all done without uttering a word.

Shaping can be used to train sit, down and stand because these are behaviors a dog does naturally. Simply capture the action as the dog does it and mark the exact moment of the behavior with a click. The reward follows. To add a verbal cue in shaping do so after ten repetitions of the behavior. Some behaviors do not require a verbal cue but instead the presentation of the box, for example, would be the cue to interact with it. In behavior such as sit, down and stand a verbal cue will of course be the next step in shaping.

In comparison, luring is a term to describe tempting or enticing. In dog training a food treat is placed in front of the dog's nose to complete the action. Luring uses words or voice cues coupled with the food lure. Training sit, down, spin, jumping through a hoop are ideal skills to use luring. It is also used with fearful or aggressive dogs to turn away from a stimuli or trigger. It pairs food with the scary trigger to change behavior.

The problem with luring is using it too much and creating a dog who doesn't perform if there is no treat available. This dilemma is what happens when luring is used too much. Luring can be very helpful if used sparingly because it is very hard to fade. An example of luring is to teach sit. The lure is placed above the head of the dog and moved slightly backwards. As the dog's head moves back, their hindquarters will come down into a sit and the treat will be dispensed. As the lure is held overhead, the cue of sit is verbalized.

Shaping and luring are quite different by the definitions and examples given above. In shaping, the dog learns quickly using a clicker to mark the behavior the dog is offering. Dogs learn by association and consequence. They learn to associate the sound of the click with the exact moment of the action wanted and then equate the action with earning a reward. It then becomes easy to raise the criteria and the animal thinks through what they did to earn the click and what else they can do to continue earning the click with the end result being a treat/motivation for effort.

An informative website to learn more about shaping is Karen Pryor's Clicker Training. Shaping and clicker training in general are scientifically researched and studied techniques which are non-confrontational methods requiring a learning curve. The concept of getting the behavior, marking the behavior and rewarding the behavior takes precise timing and interaction with the dog.

Luring uses a treat to tempt or attract the dog into a position wanted in conjunction with the use of a verbal cue and hand motion. The lure moves the action required. Luring used sparingly and faded quickly can be a positive reward-based training tool.

To shape or lure will present itself in the act of training. Both can be effective. There is much more to the art of positive reward-based training, and shaping or luring are simply two techniques to an end. Using them properly is key to success. One creates a thinking animal, the other uses a food reward as the motivator to complete the action and runs the risk of creating a dog who will perform only if a treat is present. In both cases the dog learns what to do right, one stimulated by a tool called a clicker and the other a treat and a verbal cue. Both are non-confrontational ways to train reliable skills.