Freeshape

Freeshaping is allowing the dog to lead the training session and shaping that behavioral leadership into some kind of trick, skill, or behavior.

Shaping and Freeshaping are sometimes considered synonymous, but at Pawsitive Vybe we distinguish Shaping from Freeshaping.

Shaping is going to have some handler action or handler leadership – you will do something to make the skill happen – while Freeshaping will have the dog making the skill happen on his or her own.

Capturing behavior is another way to look at Freeshaping. You wait for something to happen and then you pounce on it with a mark and a cookie. That captured behavior is then shaped into a more polished or complex expression.

Freeshape and capture is a common dog training term and an extremely effective training technique.