![Errorless shaping [Auditor] 01-08-2026](https://tromplo.com/app/uploads/2023/06/Q0R7744-4-scaled-160x0-c-default.jpg)
Your dog should not have to guess what earns reinforcement. Neither should you.
Learn how to observe, plan, build, and troubleshoot behavior without relying on endless trial and error, waiting the dog out, or treating frustration as a necessary part of learning.
A six-week guided self-study course with written lessons, video demonstrations, practical assignments, flowcharts, and planning tools.
August 1–September 11, 2026
Registration closes August 14
One year of access from purchase
Self-Study/Auditor edition — no individual feedback
Early-decision price: $99 through July 24, 2026
Regular price: $139 from July 25 through August 14, 2026
What exactly is your learner supposed to “figure out”?
You begin a shaping session with a clicker, food, and a behavior in mind. You click one small movement. Your dog offers something else. You wait. They try a sit, a paw, a spin, a bark, or an old behavior that has produced reinforcement before. You keep watching for something closer to your goal, while your dog keeps searching through their reinforcement history.
This is often described as creativity. Sometimes it is variability. But very often it is a learner working inside a problem that has not been made clear enough.
“Just let the dog figure it out” sounds empowering until we ask the most important question: what information have we actually provided that would allow the learner to figure it out?
If the plan is simply to stop reinforcing what worked a moment ago and wait for something better, extinction begins doing much of the teaching. The session can quickly fill with hesitation, repeated old behaviors, changes in pace, vocalization, disengagement, or frantic experimentation. Then the dog is called unfocused, impatient, stubborn, or “not good at shaping.”
But the learner is not the problem. The design is where we need to look first.
Shape Me Up! teaches you how to replace reactive clicking with deliberate teaching. You will learn how to define the behavior before you train it, identify the skills it is made of, arrange the environment, choose useful approximations, plan reinforcement delivery, and recognize what needs to change when the session stops flowing.
Because shaping is not waiting for behavior to appear.
Shaping is the construction of learning.
Errorless does not mean perfect
Errors will happen. Errorless shaping does not mean trying to create a flawless learner or pretending that every training session can be controlled completely.
It means that errors are treated as information, not as the engine of learning.
Instead of repeating the same setup and hoping the dog eventually finds the answer, you learn to ask:
- Is the criterion observable, achievable, and relevant to the final behavior?
- Does the learner have the prerequisite movement or balance skill?
- Is the environment cueing a different response?
- Is reinforcement placement setting up the next repetition—or disrupting it?
- Did an old cue, handler movement, object, or food position change the behavior?
- Is the learner readily returning for the next repetition?
- Is this actually the right moment to raise criteria?
The aim is not to remove all challenge or all variability. It is to create a learning process in which successful approximations are accessible, the consequences are understandable, and unnecessary frustration is minimized.
This is not a course about clicking faster
The click matters, but shaping starts much earlier than the click.
It starts with observation. With deciding what the terminal behavior actually looks like. With separating essential movement from irrelevant detail. With finding the missing prerequisite. With arranging the environment so that the first useful movement becomes likely. With planning what happens after reinforcement so the next repetition can begin cleanly.
Inside Shape Me Up!, you will develop the trainer skills that make shaping transferable. You will not receive one fixed recipe for teaching a cone send, heel position, rear paw target, retrieve, or cooperative-care behavior. A recipe can work for one dog and fall apart with the next.
Instead, you will learn a system you can apply to different behaviors, learners, species, and environments.
By the end of the course, you will be better able to:
- describe a goal behavior in observable, measurable terms;
- notice micro-movements, weight shifts, pace, latency, fluency, and changes in emotional behavior;
- identify which details matter and which are only noise;
- divide complex behavior into teachable modules;
- evoke the first useful movement without waiting for luck;
- build clean offered loops and understand what happens between repetitions;
- use targets, luring, delivery patterns, environmental arrangement, and other prompts thoughtfully;
- choose one clear, doable criterion for a session;
- plan reinforcement placement and transport so they support the next response;
- use backchaining to assemble fluent behavior from strong component skills;
- read errors as evidence of a missing skill, conflicting cue, or problem in the setup;
- decide when and how to raise criteria without changing several variables at once;
- build duration without simply withholding the click;
- plan stimulus control with clear base behaviors and antecedents;
- use flowcharts and a shaping spreadsheet to rehearse sessions before training.
This is the difference between hoping a session works and knowing what to look at when it does not.
Welcome to LEGOLAND
Traditional shaping is often explained as a staircase: reinforce step one, then step two, then step three, gradually climbing toward the final behavior. That model looks tidy on paper. Real learning rarely behaves so politely.
In Shape Me Up!, we use a modular approach. Think of a complex behavior as a LEGO structure made from separate blocks. A clean heel setup, for example, may require pivoting, backing, balance, a tuck sit, head position, and the ability to stand fluently in heel. Each component can be taught separately, strengthened, and then assembled.
This changes troubleshooting completely.
When the behavior breaks down, your only option is no longer to “lower criteria” and repeat an easier version of the same exercise. You can look for the missing block. Perhaps the dog cannot shift weight in the required direction. Perhaps the base position is not fluent. Perhaps the dog can perform the movement in front of you but not beside you. Perhaps food placement evokes an incompatible response.
The error becomes the subject of your next training plan.
You stop asking, “How can I make my dog try harder?” and begin asking, “What skill does this behavior still need?”
The six-week learning path
Week 1 — Stop guessing: understand the learning process
We begin by clearing away the most persistent shaping myths. You will look at what shaping is—and what it is not—then explore errorless learning, successive approximations, extinction, frustration, resurgence, and the learning cycle. You will compare shaping, capturing, luring, and other ways of producing behavior, and start developing the observation and operationalization skills that everything else depends on.
You will begin to see why a session becomes unclear, not merely that it did.
Week 2 — See the behavior, then build its modules
Detailed observation is useful only when you can identify which details matter. You will learn how to extract the essential features of a goal behavior, think in behavioral building blocks rather than linear staircases, and identify the movement patterns, weight shifts, positions, directions, objects, and environmental conditions the final behavior requires. You will also explore practical ways to evoke the first movement without leaving the learner to guess.
You will turn a vague goal into a behavior you can actually teach.
Week 3 — Turn the analysis into a shaping plan
Now the separate pieces become a working plan. You will use backchaining to assemble modules, learn the distinction between transport and luring, and define criteria that are positive, observable, concise, focused on one thing, and immediately doable for your learner. You will use the shaping spreadsheet to move from “I know what I want” to “I know what I will reinforce in this session.”
You will enter a session with a plan clear enough to guide both you and the learner.
Week 4 — Make errors useful
When the same error returns, simply slowing down or lowering criteria often fails to address the cause. This week teaches you to analyze errors for missing prerequisite skills, conflicting cues, changes in handler position, reinforcement effects, and weaknesses in the behavior chain. You will also learn to use flowcharts to rehearse the session, plan resets, and remove the dead time in which neither participant knows what happens next.
You will stop repeating problems and start using them to decide what to train next.
Week 5 — Raise criteria and add duration with clarity
You will learn how fluency, stability, readiness, and a clean loop tell you when the learner is prepared for a criteria shift. Rather than following a fixed number of repetitions, you will learn to read the behavior in front of you, change one variable at a time, and make criteria shifts as unobtrusive as possible. You will also separate duration from distance and repetition, then explore alternatives to simply waiting longer before clicking.
You will know when to progress, what to change, and how to tell whether the new criterion is working.
Week 6 — Build stimulus control without losing the behavior
The final week brings the pieces together. You will examine base behaviors, duration, cue association, antecedent arrangements, and the many environmental details that can become part of a cue. You will also take a critical look at “free shaping,” choice, and the consequences of reinforcing behavior without a terminal goal.
You will be able to move from a fluent offered behavior toward a clear cued behavior while protecting the learning you have built.
What is included
- Six weeks of structured written lessons and video tutorials
- Real training footage and detailed shaping breakdowns
- Practical observation, planning, and training assignments
- Flowcharts and a shaping spreadsheet for session design
- Exercises in modular shaping, criteria selection, backchaining, delivery, duration, and stimulus control
- Access to the Tromplo learning platform and community
- Certificate of attendance upon completion
- 24/7 access to the full course for one year from purchase
This is the Self-Study/Auditor edition. You receive the complete learning materials, assignments, examples, and tools, but you do not submit training videos or receive individual instructor feedback.
Who this course is for
Shape Me Up! is for professional dog trainers, behavior consultants, sports trainers, serious training enthusiasts, and caregivers who want to understand how learning is constructed—not simply collect more exercises.
It is especially useful if:
- your dog starts cycling through familiar behaviors during shaping;
- you often know the final goal but do not know how to create the first useful movement;
- your training works until you raise criteria, add duration, or introduce a cue;
- lowering criteria helps temporarily, but the same error returns;
- your sessions contain hesitation, dead time, unclear resets, or accidental behavior chains;
- you want more precision without sacrificing agency or making frustration part of the method;
- you can teach a behavior with one dog but struggle to adapt the plan to another;
- you want to understand why a plan works, so you can build the next one yourself.
The course uses dog-training examples, but the principles of behavior, observation, criteria, antecedent arrangement, reinforcement, and stimulus control apply across species.
You do not need advanced shaping experience. You do need curiosity, a willingness to examine your own training, and an interest in principles rather than universal recipes.
This course may not be the right fit if…
You are looking only for a step-by-step recipe for teaching one specific trick, or you want individualized review of your own training videos. This August edition is self-study and does not include personal feedback.
It is also not built around the idea that learners must repeatedly fail, become frustrated, or “try harder” in order to learn. We will look at errors honestly, but we will use them to improve our analysis and design—not blame the learner.
What previous students say
“The most important things I learned are how to describe the behavior I want to teach, analyze it and divide it into small pieces. And this is really the key to shape behaviors. I really learned how to set my dog up for success.”
— Arianna Tomassoli
“The content is packed, but after six weeks I can still use the materials for our further work for many months. I recommend it for all dog handlers who want to teach their dogs more consciously and comfortably.”
— Janina Gmiter
“The graphics helped me a lot to get a mental picture of what I’m learning about shaping. So much effort has been put behind this course, and I really appreciate it.”
— Babak Homayouni
Frequently asked questions
Is this a live course?
No. This is a guided self-study edition. The material is organized across six weekly modules, and you can study and train at times that fit your schedule.
What does “Auditor” mean?
You receive access to the complete course materials, videos, assignments, tools, and community, but you do not post your own training videos or receive individual feedback from Agnieszka.
What happens if I register after August 1?
Registration remains open through August 14. If you join after the course begins, the modules already released will be available in your account. You keep access for one year from the date of purchase.
Is this course only for professional trainers or sports dogs?
No. The framework is equally relevant to pet skills, cooperative care, tricks, sports, and professional behavior work. Beginners receive a clear structure; experienced trainers gain a deeper system for analysis and troubleshooting.
Will I learn how to shape one specific behavior?
You will see many practical examples, but the goal is larger: to teach you how to design a plan for any behavior by observing it, identifying its modules, choosing criteria, arranging the environment, and analyzing the result.
Does errorless shaping mean my dog will never make a mistake?
No. Errors still happen. The difference is that we do not depend on repeated failure or confusion to produce learning. An error becomes information about the plan, the environment, the criteria, or a missing prerequisite.
How long will I be able to access the material?
For one year from the date of purchase, 24/7.
Stop asking your learner to solve a problem you have not made clear
Learners are always responding to the conditions we arrange. They notice our movement, the object in the room, the placement of food, the end of reinforcement, the behaviors that worked before, and the cues we may not even know we are giving.
The question is not whether your learner is trying.
The question is whether the learning problem is understandable.
Shape Me Up! will teach you to see those conditions, plan them deliberately, and change them when the behavior tells you something is missing. You will leave with more than a collection of shaping techniques. You will have a repeatable way to observe, build, and troubleshoot learning.
Learning should not feel like guessing. Not for the learner. Not for the trainer.
Course Testimonials
Set aside the in detail words of this course, the graphics helped me a lot to get a mental picture of what I’m learning about shaping. definitely so much effort have been put behind this course which i really appreciate. thanks for making us better dog trainers. my dogs are also enjoying this knowledge that I’ve acquired and they want to say : Woof Woof !!!
August 5, 2025
Set aside the in detail words of this course, the graphics helped me a lot to get a mental picture of what I’m learning about shaping. definitely so much effort have been put behind this course which i really appreciate. thanks for making us better dog trainers. my dogs are also enjoying this knowledge that I’ve acquired and they want to say : Woof Woof !!!
August 5, 2025
I think it is so important to always try to become a better trainer and by taking an online course I both get an incentive to train – which is of course one prerequisite to improvement – but I also watch myself on video and can review what happened and even more crucial, I get feedback from a skilled trainer, who sees things from a different perspective than I do.
In this course specifically it is Agnieszka who provides the feedback and she has the perfect blend of pushing us further, sometimes setting us on a slightly different path or just cheering us on when we’re progressing. She is very creative in her solutions to any problems that arise and the feedback is so precise.
The content of the course gave me new insights in errorless and loopy training and I feel more confident moving on from this, though we didn’t reach my intended goal. But after all, it isn’t a competition, we are all on our own paths as teams with our dogs and the joy really is in the journey together, not necessarily the speed!
January 22, 2024
In this course not only I understood how deep is the ocean of shaping, but Agnieszka also did great work in dividing it into small “chewable pieces” always perfectly described and explained in lectures.
The course as always was individualized- adjusted to the level of participants and their needs. We were working on our chosen behaviours but there were always many inspirations of behaviours to learn from Agnieszka’s lectures. The form of course allows also to see other participants, which is very valuable. I love that there is lots of knowledge but always presented in a practical way both due to Agnieszka’s videos and various practical homework. The content is packed, but after 6 weeks I can still use materials for our further work for many months. I recommend it for all dog handlers who want to teach their dogs more consciously and comfortably.
January 11, 2024
This course is really important for me. I thought I was doing many things correctly but I discovered I wasn’t. The most important things I learned are how to describe the behavior I want to teach (we never do this. How can we teach a behavior if we don’t have in mind how it looks like? How can our dog learn it?), analyze it and divide it into small pieces. And this is really the key to shape behaviors. I really learned how to set my dog up to success. Agnieszka is an amazing teacher, her lessons are clear and so useful. I highly recommend this course even if you think you are a great trainer!
June 30, 2023