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It’s time for New Year’s resolutions and big goals for the coming year. Have you asked your four-legged friends if they have any resolutions? If one of them is to learn to shake, you’re in luck! We have some basic principles to get you and your dog on your way.
Quick training tips
- Before attempting any new trick, your dog needs to know the basics of “sit,” “stay,” and “down.” Once they have learned these, you can move on to other tricks.
- Train your dog in 10 minutes sessions, no more than twice a day. Learning requires a lot of energy from you and your dog. You don’t want to tire either one of you out.
- Make sure you are in a good mood and ready to praise your dog before starting the session.
- Most importantly, NEVER get frustrated or use force while teaching your dog new tricks. If you start feeling frustrated or negative, stop the session and try again tomorrow.
- Bonus tip: Follow each training session with good old-fashion playtime. Your dog will get excited about learning if it is followed by something fun.
Teaching Your Dog to Shake Paws
Shaking paws is a fun, easy first trick to learn because dogs instinctually raise their paws when asking for a treat.
- Put your dog in the sitting position.
- Put a treat in your hand and close it.
- Move it toward the ground near your dog’s paw.
- Let them paw at your hand. When they do, say, “Shake.”
- Give them the treat.
- Repeat this series, slowly moving your fist higher until you are at your dog’s chest level.
Once you have mastered this part, offer your open hand, with no treat in it, to your dog and say, “Shake.” When your dog puts their paw in your hand, give them a treat. Repeat this, slowly increasing the amount of time your dog has to keep their paw in your hand to receive the treat.
Finally, practice, practice, practice! Eventually, you will be able to stop giving your dog treats and simply praise their behavior instead.
Congratulations! New Year’s Resolution accomplished!