How To Shape Your Dog: The Ultimate Guide To Training Success #328
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
How to shape your dog for training success starts with understanding that shaping isn't about waiting and hoping, it's about designing success from the start. In this episode, I'm sharing the ultimate guide to shaping, including the three phases I use to design, execute, and reflect on shaping sessions so they're clear, efficient, and confidence-building for our dogs. We'll look at how to define clear criteria, split behaviors into achievable pieces, choose reinforcement with intention, and recognize "cheap behaviors" before they become habits. When you shift from hoping to intentional planning and data collection, shaping becomes predictable, your dog learns faster, and your sessions become more effective and enjoyable.
In this episode, you'll hear:
• Why shaping can feel frustrating when there's no clear plan.
• The difference between shaping and simply hoping your dog figures it out.
• The three phases I use to plan every shaping session: Designing the Learning, Game Day Execution, and Reflections.
• Why splitting behaviors into smaller pieces creates clarity.
• How your dog's emotional state impacts the learning process.
• What "cheap behaviors" are and how to prevent them.
• What to consider when choosing reinforcement, including value, delivery, and placement.
• How your setup, environment, and body position influences your dog's responses.
• How I use Push, Stick, Drop method to guide decisions during training.
• How to use evaluation sessions to quickly adjust your plan and increase success.
• Why you should only train one criterion at a time for clarity and speed.
• When to add cues and why adding them too early creates confusion.
• How reviewing your sessions helps improve your timing, mechanics, and decisions.
• How to get my FREE shaping checklist to plan your next session with confidence.
Download Your Free Shaping Checklist:
Click HERE to get your Complete Checklist to Shaping Behavior - https://dogsthat.com/shaping-checklist
Resources:
1. YouTube Playlist: Shaping Success in Dog Training with Susan Garrett - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy3O-_a1dHX3DDwsYKu9osB8 &si=kcsMUKfY7SZ1a39t
2. Podcast Episode 245: Make Dog Training Easy! Quick Guide To Antecedent Arrangements - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/245/
3. Shaped by Dog Podcast - https://dogsthat.com/podcasts/
4. Podcast Episode 327: Beyond "Yes" And "Good": Why Your Dog Needs "Spotlights" - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/327/
5. Podcast Episode 196: Why Mastering Reinforcement Is The Linchpin To Reinforcement Based Dog Training - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/196/
6. Podcast Episode 89: Why Dogs Should Not Tug: The Truth Revealed - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/89/
7. Podcast Episode 133: Become Your Own Dog Training Coach With This Video Strategy - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/133/
8. Podcast Episode 184: Proofing Vs Generalizing In Dog Training To Grow Skills And Confidence - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/184/
9. Podcast Episode 227: My Foolproof Strategy To Overcoming Dog Training Challenges - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/227/
10. Podcast Episode 266: Hot Zone And Stays – How One Dog Training Nuance Can Fix Anxiety And Duration - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/266/
11. Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://youtu.be/XDuAWmlx9Fg
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | if you've ever stood around waiting and hoping that your dog would just offer you something |
| 0:06.0 | so you could click or mark or throw a cookie, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. |
| 0:10.9 | Even if you can only absorb 10% of what I'm sharing today, I promise you your next training |
| 0:16.2 | session will be your absolute best. I just love sharing about shaping, and I think done effectively, it is the absolute |
| 0:23.7 | best way to train any dog. |
| 0:31.0 | Hi, I'm Susan Garrett, and this is shaped by dog. |
| 0:33.8 | We're training makes sense at both ends of the leash. |
| 0:37.3 | With a podcast titled Shaped by Dog, |
| 0:41.3 | it probably doesn't come as a big surprise that today is the eighth episode that we've recorded |
| 0:47.0 | on the subject of shaping behavior. Now, the previous seven are all excellent and definitely |
| 0:52.3 | worth watching. So we'll leave a link in the show notes. |
| 0:55.3 | Please go back and revisit them. So why an eighth, you might ask? It's probably not going to be the |
| 1:01.2 | last because shaping is something that a lot of people don't quite get a good grasp of. And so what |
| 1:09.6 | ends up happening is the trainer stands around navel |
| 1:13.3 | gazing and the dog gets frustrated trying to figure out how to earn reinforcement and the rate |
| 1:19.4 | of reinforcement plummets. And so neither dog nor trainer are having a great time. But what I just |
| 1:24.6 | described, that's not shaping. That's hoping. Hoping that magic will |
| 1:29.7 | happen and the dog will just hit on what you're looking for. Great shaping doesn't come from |
| 1:35.3 | waiting. It doesn't come from hoping. It comes from a strategic design. Designing what the dog will |
| 1:41.1 | notice, designing what the dog will try, designing the dog's success. |
| 1:45.7 | It's what I previously have referred to as arranging coincidences. |
| 1:50.1 | So it seems like the dog magically hit on something, but it actually was your strategic plan, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from DogsThat, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of DogsThat and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.