Last week, Deb Runyan of Commerce Township won the first prize in a contest series for answering correctly that timing is "everything" in dog training.

I have question #2 ready for this week — WE HAVE A WINNER at 12:19 p.m. Tuesday. We also have a contestant to beat — today's winner is Deb Runyan, the winner who turned in the correct response first to last week's question too. Runyan selected prize package #5: pet clean up supplies from Purina.

The question was: Describe what it means to "shape" a dog's behavior. 

Runyan responded with the answer: "Shaping is rewarding any behavior/movement from the dog that is a positive step towards your desired end task/goal. Basically, "training" in small increments, working towards a new, and more complicated feat."

The answer is absolutely correct. 

Jean Donaldson, author of Culture Clash, phrased it this way: "Shaping is technique which involves rewarding the dog's best efforts and then gradually raising the standard until the behavior is as you wish."

Remember answers to the first few questions can be found among these three posts:
Behavior 101: Shaping vs. Training, Part I
Behavior 101: Shaping vs. Training, Part II 
If the dog likes you, I like you

The rules of the contest are this — The first person to email me (karen@oakpress.com) the correct answer can select a prize package of his or her choosing. Check out the full list of available prize packages.