How to teach your dog to shake

In terms of dog tricks, getting your pup to shake is one of the basics. All it takes is a few treats, some time and an attentive doggie.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Small treats

1. First, you'll need to choose a command cue word. This will be 1 short word that tells your dog to perform his trick. The easiest is "shake" as, well, that's what he's doing. You may, however, choose something like "Hello!" or "Paw's up!" to make the trick more interesting.

2. You'll need to initially put your pup into position. You will want to do this while saying the command. Lift and hold the pup's paw while saying the command, then put it down.

3. Repeat Step 2, but now, each time you release, praise the dog and give him a small treat.

4. After a few repeats of Step 3, repeat the command and reach out your hand, but do not take your dogs paw. If you have practiced enough, he should reach out his paw without you needing to lift it. If he does, give him a treat and praise. If he does not, go back to Step 2 and repeat again.

5. The dog should now associate your command cue word with his trick. Once you've mastered this trick, your pup will be able to move on to bigger and better things!

Tips & Warnings

• Teaching your dog to shake quickly leads to more complicated tricks. From here, you can teach your dog to high-5, beg and hide, since they all have to do with his legs and paws.
• If your dog gets bored, he won't learn well. Try training him over several days if he loses interest quickly.