Shaping Explained- Part 1 of Training Your Dog to Turn on a Light Switch with Clicker
Follow Jessie’s actual progress during the first steps learning to turn on a light switch. In under 4 minutes (approx. 45 clicks), she has the main idea.
Have you considered training your own assistance or service dog? Or trying out a new trick to impress friends?
Clicker training is the best way I have found to successfully train almost any dog.
I have been asked several times for footage of a dog learning a task or being shaped for the first time so new trainers could see the actual process and know what to expect. So here it is! Lots of repetition. Note she doesn’t get clicked for any behavior she offers that I don’t want later on such as pawing, stepping on or scratching the switch plate.
The only editing was for slow periods where she scrambled for food, when I repositioned myself as I was uncomfortable or when I turned on and off the camera.
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Duration : 0:4:3
Splash and Kiko were trained to turn the light switches on and off using Free Shaping. In this video I wanted to show that you can use Luring to achieve complex behaviors in a rapid amount of time. Tug already has the skills of fading a lure and adding a verbal cue under his belt. But I have to say that all this footage was taken from a single training session of 10 minutes long. When using free shaping getting to this same level with the two behaviors of “push” and “off”- it took a few more training sessions and I found it harder with dogs that liked to retrieve as they would keep offering trying to put the light switch in their mouth like a dumbell. 
We honor Seth Jameson Webster. A inspiration for the guide dog community. His drive to raise awareness about guide dogs will always be in our thoughts, and we are forever grateful to have known him. He was a incredible guide dog user who really opened up our eyes beyond just raising puppies.
http://www.FastAndPrecise.com/dog-training — Dog Puppy Training
Raising guide dogs for the blind is very rewarding and a good excuse to be around puppies all the time.
Jen Pottheiser is a volunteer puppy trainer for Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). CCI is an organization that breeds, raises and trains dogs to one day become istance dogs. The dogs are then placed free of charge with people with physical and mental handicaps other than blindness. Pottheiser’s dog Callie, is a 16-month old golden retriever yellow lab mix. Puppy training gives the dog its initial exposure and experience to a variety of social situations. In fewer than two months, Callie will leave Pottheiser to begin boot camp at CCIs main campus in Medford, Long Island for skill training. Only 30 to 40 percent of the dogs completing the program will make the cut and be paired with someone in need. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)
“Pawsabilities” is an annual fund raiser held by the Susquehanna Service Dogs to raise fund for training dogs to help individuals with disabilities.
A music video showing scenes of North Star istance dogs and puppies in training to work with children with autism.
