Fun with a box

Puppies love to play with a box.

And a box is a great way to learn how to shape behaviour using a clicker.  Here's a link to Karen Pryor's 101 Things To Do With a Box.  You can't screw up a dog's formal training by shaping them with a box so that's one reason to use a box; plus it's fun to see what behaviours you get from your dog, and thirdly, it's a great way to learn how to use a clicker.  The hardest things for me to do when I learned how to properly shape canine behavious was to:

1. Keep my mouth shut and not say a word.
2. Keep my body still.
3. Not try to help my dog.

As Karen points out, "Don't call the dog, don't pat the box, don't chat, don't encourage the dog, and don't "help" him."  You have to let the dog figure out what you want but you first have to decide what behaviour you want to get from your dog, time the click at just the right moments and treat quickly. When teaching a dog a new behaviour or shaping a new behaviour, you must deliver a lot of rewards at first and to do that, you have to be vigilant about what behaviours they are offering and deliver the treats at the appropriate times.  Like anything, practice makes perfect and I'm talking about the human here, not the dog.