A favorite command to teach puppies is shake; it’s easy to teach and undeniably adorable when a puppy offers to shake your hand like you’ve been invited to an important business meeting. But just because you can, should you teach your puppy to shake?
Sometimes this cute trick can become problematic over time. But don’t worry; in this blog, we will discuss potential problems and how you can address them.
What does shake teach your puppy?
When you teach your puppy to shake, you are strongly reinforcing that by offering their paw, they are rewarded with treats and praise. It’s easy to teach, since what puppy doesn’t love treats and praise? However, some puppies can then become a bit too reliant on this behavior to get your attention and offer a shake without being asked.
Shake is an attention maintained behavior, similar to jumping. This is because the more that shake gets your attention, the more they are going to do it. It’s an innocent behavior that can be bothersome if your puppy starts pawing at you, or when your puppy is pawing at children or elderly people for attention. It can be bothersome, particularly if your puppy grows into a 90-lb German Shepherd or a 200-lb Mastiff.
How can you prevent this?
So how can we teach a puppy to shake without them offering their paw by themselves? There are two simple methods to prevent this.
Only shake when you cue your puppy
When you teach shake, make sure you only shake when you cue your puppy. If your puppy comes over and offers to shake, you should ignore it. By ignoring it, you are making it less likely that they will continue to offer their paw without you asking them for a shake.
Teach alternative commands
If you want to have a cute trick to play with your dog, you could consider teaching roll over, crawl, or play dead. These behaviors can be especially fun for children to bond with their dog.
We are here to help
Would you like help teaching your puppy high level obedience and good manners? You can contact our Pet Behavior Team for a free consultation, where we can chat with you and provide a personalized recommendation that meets your needs. We recommend checking out our puppy training blog or our TikTok channel.
Beyond the Dog offers board-and-train and virtual training programs for clients in Tampa Bay and nationwide. While our Tampa Bay location offers personalized one-on-one training sessions, including training at your home and local Tampa neighborhood.
We use scientifically proven training methods, backed by over 20 years of hands-on experience. Beyond the Dog Tampa Bay is led by our co-founders, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and Sean Savage, a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA).
