How to Teach Your Dog “Shake”

“Shake” is a fairly simple, and common, trick to teach your pup. It’s a classic trick that’s sure to amuse kids, friends, and family. Today I’m sharing 5 simple steps that will easily explain how to teach your dog “shake”. 

Before teaching your dog how to shake, ensure they know the more basic command, “sit”. “Sit” is the basis of all dog commands and should therefore be taught before moving onto more difficult tricks. 

Teaching Your Dog Shake

1. Hold Your Hand Out To Your Dog

The first step for how to teach your dog “shake” is to simply hold your hand out to your dog. Pick a high value treat and hold it in a fist, then reach your arm out towards your dogs nose.

2. Wait For Them To Paw Your Hand

Allow them to sniff, lick, and explore your hand until they eventually touch it with their paw. As soon as their paw touches your first, open it and reward them with the treat and lots of praise. 

3. Build Duration

Once your dog is consistently pawing at your hand, build the duration of time they will hold their paw in your palm. Each time their paw rests in your palm, wait a little bit longer before rewarding and praising them. 

Wait until your dog’s paw is resting in your hand before praising them. We want them to understand that the trick is to hold their paw in your hand, and not scratch at it. 

4. Add The Verbal Cue “Shake”

When your dog is consistently holding their paw in your palm, add the cue “shake”. Each time they hold their paw still in your hand say “shake” and reward with a treat. 

5. Add Movement

When your dog is comfortable with the “shake” command, slowly add an up and down movement. Hold your palm out and allow them to place their paw in your hand. At this point, gently grab it and move your arm up and down. Say “shake” as you move your arm up and down and reward with a treat. 

Variations To “Shake”

Once your dog is completely comfortable with the “shake” command you can add more difficult variations. 

Shake With Both Paws

Teach your dog how to shake with both paws by teaching each paw separately. To us, shaking with either hands is the same concept. For dogs, it is not. Once your dog is comfortable shaking with their left paw, reteach them the same trick, but with the right paw. 

The easiest way to teach your dog to shake is to use the paw closest to the hand you’re holding out. If you’re facing your dog and hold out your right hand, they’ll shake with their left paw. If you’re holding out your left hand they’ll shake with their right paw. Keep this in mind when trying to teach your dog how to shake with both paws. 

High Five

High five is a cute, and slightly more impressive, variation of “shake”. To teach your dog how to high five, hold your palm up straight instead of flat out. The same way you’d high five a human. 

Remember not to get frustrated with your dog when teaching tricks. Practice repeatedly and often until it becomes muscle memory for your pup. Start out in a quiet location with no distractions. Once your dog seems confident, move to busier areas with more distraction. 

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