When you’re feeling confident that you have some of the basic commands, like sit, stay and come mastered, it’s a good idea to continue to teach new behaviors so that your dog is in the habit of learning.
Plus it can be fun to teach them tricks and show off to your family and friends. I mean, who doesn’t like to show off what their pup can do every so often?
Below I have set out some simple steps for teaching your dog to shake.
Before you teach the command shake, you need to make sure that your dog understands how to sit. Also, you want to make sure that, as with any behavior you are trying to teach, they first understand what it is you want them to do before you introduce the verbal command.
Follow these steps:
- To first get your dog to give you his paw, simply touch their leg a little bit and as soon as he lifts up his paw, even a little bit, give him a treat right away.
- Repeat this until they learn that every time they give you their paw, they get a treat.
- Remember, don’t introduce the verbal command until you are sure they understand the behavior.
- Eventually don’t go down to tap their paw but instead, bring your hand up a little higher and once again, as soon as they give you their paw give them a treat.
- Once they have figured out that you want them to give you their paw and they get a treat you can introduce the verbal command.
- Remember to treat as soon as they give you their paw as you only have a couple of seconds to reinforce that behavior.
- Don’t feel like you have to train the entire trick in one session. Remember to be patient, stay positive and always end on a good note.
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