Everyone loves to teach their dogs to perform and “Shake” is a simple and fun trick to start with. This classic trick is something everyone understands and comes in especially handy when meeting new people. Kids will love interacting with your dog.
Teaching Your Dog How to Shake
This trick is all about behavior modification. You want to teach your pooch to offer their paw on command. This will require a good stockpile of high-value treats or rewards. Some dog owners prefer to use a clicker instead of food, and that’s just fine. Whatever works for your dog!
Ready? Let’s go!
Step 1
Simply offer your hand to your dog. When first starting out, it will take some time for the dog to figure out what you want. There will be plenty of licking, sniffing and strange looks. Eventually your dog will paw at your hand. As soon as they do, praise them and give them a reward.
Step 2
Repeat Step 1 over and over until they are pawing at your hand in a consistent manner.
Step 3
When your dog is regularly pawing your hand, increase the time they must hold it before you praise them and offer a reward. This is the “make them work for it” phase. Before long they’ll associate the reward with the increased duration.
Please keep in mind, you are not giving them any verbal indication of what you want them to do. You are simply offering them your hand and you want to be absolutely sure your dog understands what is being asked of them before adding any potentially confusing verbal cues. Be consistent in increasing the time they rest their paw on your hand before giving the reward. We want to teach them to shake, not just scratch at your hand.
Step 4
Eventually your dog will learn you want them to place their paw on your hand. Again, be sure you’re rewarding a longer duration over time. Once they’re consistently resting their paw on your hand you can move on. Be patient with them. They’ll figure it out.
Step 5
Now we can introduce verbal cues. Hold out your hand as before, but right when the dog’s paw is about to make contact, say “shake”. You can use whatever cue you want, but just make sure your timing is right. Give them the cue right before they perform the behavior and when you’re sure they’re going to shake your hand. Praise and reward them for this behavior. Practice this step until they can perform it on cue.
Step 6
When your dog is consistently performing the trick on cue, you can add in the final piece of the puzzle. Offer your hand sideways like you would another person and get them to place their paw in your hand. This slight change may throw them off a bit. If it does just keep at it and go back to the previous step if you have to.
Step 7
Once they’re comfortable placing their paw in your hand you can start giving it a gentle shake. Just a slow up and down motion. As before, if they seem to be a little unsure about this, feel free to go back a step and make sure they’re comfortable there. Don’t forget to praise and reward along the way.
Congratulations! By this point, your dog should be able to shake on cue. It’s always a good idea to have them practice with others and in different environments. Try it in a noisy park or when out for a walk. Keep reinforcing the behavior you want and they’ll soon be shaking hands like a politician at a rally.