From getting your dog-to-be potty trained to teaching your dog to come when called, there are a ton of doggy skills that you’ll want to work on. One of the most basic but also one of the most impressive is teaching your dog to shake paws. This can be a great trick to learn if you are trying to start training your dog. So how do you go about learning how to shake paws and teach your dog? This blog serves as a guide to dog owners on how to train their dogs to Shake Paws.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
How to Teach Your Dog to Shake?
The “Shake” behavior is used in dog training. A dog is taught “Shake” as part of the command “Shake hands”. It is a trust exercise where the dog takes a hand and gently shakes it. Dogs learn this behavior easily and it is a way for dogs to interact with humans. Here are some easy steps to train your dogs to shake
Time needed: 5 minutes.
5 Steps to Teach Your Dog to Shake
- Get Your Dog in Sitting Position
f you want to train your dog to wave its front paws, we suggest you keep your dog in a sitting position. Next, show some treats to your dogs or make a fist and wave it under their nose. It will help you to get their attention; you can also verbally tell them that you have a treat in your hand.
- Give the Shake Command
The first way to teach your dog to shake is to put the treat in your closed hand. Wait until it sniffs at your hand. Usually, dogs figure out that their nose is near the treat and stick it in your fist, which will make you open your hand.
If that doesn’t work your dog will start pawing his hand on yours. At this right appreciate your dog say ‘good boy’ and give him a treat.
- Keep Practicing
Practice giving the signal for your dog to shake. You can either just say the word or use your voice to get the “shake” command across with the signal when required.
Over time you will see that your dog automatically offers its paw when it hears you say the word or use your “shake” motion, especially if they are fed a treat as well.
- Practice without Treat
When your dog knows that it needs to shake hands with you to get a treat, stop using treats as rewards. Have your pup shake as they always do when they greet you, but this time rewards them with a treat from the other hand.
Continue training in this manner and then start rewarding your pup fewer times until eventually removing the treats completely.
- Switch Treat Hand
When you are training your dog to shake it doesn’t mean that he only knows to perform the trick with one paw. You must train your pup to shake with a separate paw.
One method to do this is to make sure that when you treat in your right hand your dog must shake the right paw and vice versa. Don’t reward them with a treat if they shake with the other paw.
Conclusion
Dog tricks are a great way to engage and entertain your dog. You can select your dog’s favorite treat and make him do tricks. These tricks can be learned by you and your dog together. The dog will feel good as he is learning something new too. It is a great way to pass an hour or two with your dog.
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