This paper presents the results of a series of experiments conducted to model a magnetorheological damper operated in shear mode. The prototype MR damper consists of two parallel steel plates; a paddle covered with an MR fluid coated foam is placed between the plates. The force is generated when the paddle is in motion and the MR fluid is reached by the magnetic field of the coil in one end of the device. Two approaches were considered in this experiment: a parametric approach based on the Bingham, Bouc-Wen and Hyperbolic Tangent models and a non parametric approach based on a Neural Network model. The accuracy to reproduce the MR damper behavior is compared as well as some aspects related to performance are discussed.