# Will your Hav "shake hands"?



## Redorr (Feb 2, 2008)

Lola and I just wrapped a 4 week basic training class at the SPCA in San Francisco. It was great and I have learned a ton. Lola is getting impulse control and commands really well. 

At the end of class the trainer showed us how to get a dog to "shake hands" by raising the paw. You just hold food in your fist and after a while of trying with their nose and mouth, your dog should paw at your hand. Well, I have tried this for several minutes at a time, several times and Lola will not pick her paw up off the ground from a Sit. It occurs to me that she doesn't use her paws for much, except holding a bully stick. She eats her meals from a kong ( to slow down her piggyness ) and never uses her paws to hold the thing. I think the trick is basically silly, but anything that gets us in obedience mode is great for us both.

Anybody have a dog that does use his/her paws - and "shakes hands"?


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## whitBmom (Nov 27, 2006)

I remember teaching Oreo and my other dogs to shake hands, well in Spanish it is "Mano".  But what I did is I would have them sit infront of me and then I'd say Mano and gesture ( exaggeratingly), then place their paw on my hand and praise like crazy. I found that after a few times they got the "gesture" and "mano" and I would praise like crazy and offer a treat. I totally remember how happy all my dogs were when they 'got it" and how proud of themselves they were.  Good luck!


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I taught "Give me Five" by putting my hand down, palm up, and nudging gently at their knee until they lifted the paw. I would quickly slide my hand under the paw and praise like crazy. Kubrick got it in literally 5 tries. Hitchcock took *forever* learning this trick. Honestly, I spent about 1-2 weeks trying for 5 minutes a day and nothing. Then I stopped for about 2 weeks and tried one day and he got it! I think he just needed some time to let it sink in, LOL!


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

I remember teaching Murphy to shake paws. He literally got it in 2 attempts. Then all of a sudden when I would say shake paw he would get up from his sit and back-up. It was so funny. He knew what he was supposed to do but he didn't want to do it. We with held his treat until he would sit and give his paw. Now he wants to shake paws all the time. He wakes me up with bunches of kisses and then I have to shake his paw probably 10 times. One of the forum members pm'd me with how to teach him and she was a great instructor.


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

The forum member was Dukes mommy. She had some videos posted of her little guy doing tricks.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Yes, Tori shakes w/her right paw and will wave bye-bye w/her left one.

Honestly, I don't remember what steps I took to teach it. She is very smart and will always figure out what I want her to do, in spite of how I try to teach it ound:


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

Oliver will do it but Comet won't????????


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

Daisy will say hi with one paw and bye-bye with the other.
Brooklyn was just working with one of the dogs this weekend with shake, and this is what she did- she would say 'shake' then lightly push the paw backwards that she wanted the dog to shake with. The dog's natural reaction is to eventually pick up the paw. Brooklyn would then hold the paw and say 'shake, good girl!"-


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

My kids taught Scooter. They tell him to "shake" and he'll do it, then say "other paw" and he'll pick up the other foot and shake with that one. He learns quickly, Murphy is a different story and only knows "sit" and "down" so far.


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## marb42 (Oct 19, 2008)

Yep, Marble can shake and do a high five, but I still can't get him to fetch. He'll run toward the object, grab it and stand there looking at me. My daughter is trying to teach him to wave.....
Gina


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## HavaTwizz (Aug 16, 2009)

Twizzi does "Give me Your paw" Right by the door I tell her to
sit and Paw's for the cause and she knows to sit and get her paws
wiped.I guess you repeat things enough they know....


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## Phoebs (May 28, 2009)

Our puppy trainer says that the more trained a dog is, the more trainable it will become, so we learned how to shake.
step 1: Fabulous treat on floor. Yum.
step 2: Fabulous treat on floor, but clear tupperware over it. OH NO!~ So doggy swats and trys to move it. Click and treat when they touch the tupperware- they learn fast.
step 3: your hand on top of tupperware, and when they touch your hand click and treat.
step 4: hand facing up becomes the cue (no treat or tupperware) and add the word "Paw" as they touch it. Click and treat.
works like a charm! 

We taught her how to do "aw shucks" in only 3 sessions. Not very refined, but it's there! 
Put post-it note on her forehead/ear. She will swat it with her paw. Click and treat. It was tricky for her to get it, but she did get it really in only three sessions. sometimes we still need to show her the post-it note for her to remember. These are great training tools! they won't pull hair, but they do stick a bit! it's a motivator for the puppy!

I also heard that tape under a paw teaches them to lift and do shake, that's what gave me the idea of a post-it note. Tape would hurt I think, with all that long puppy fur.

Oh, and you do not need a clicker when you do clicker training. Just use "Yess!" as your click- keep it short and crisp. But the clicker is still better I think.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Redorr said:


> At the end of class the trainer showed us how to get a dog to "shake hands" by raising the paw. You just hold food in your fist and after a while of trying with their nose and mouth, your dog should paw at your hand.


Good for you getting a clas in with Lola! I bet it was fun and good training for her.

None of mine have been taught to shake hands and I can see where that method sure wouldn't work here.  Mine have been taught to sit nice for a treat, no jumping up, no pushing in front, no grabbing and certainly no pawing LOL! If they even snap too greedily I will pull the treat back with an "uh-uh".


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

I remember simply picking up Jackson's paw and saying "Shake" over and over, and he seemed a little slow on it. Then one day someone came in and was playing with him and said "do you know how to shake?" and he did it! I about fell over I was so excited. He does it on command now easily. The "one on one" at home usually works . . . just keep working on it . . .


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Phoebs said:


> Our puppy trainer says that the more trained a dog is, the more trainable it will become, so we learned how to shake.
> step 1: Fabulous treat on floor. Yum.
> step 2: Fabulous treat on floor, but clear tupperware over it. OH NO!~ So doggy swats and trys to move it. Click and treat when they touch the tupperware- they learn fast.
> step 3: your hand on top of tupperware, and when they touch your hand click and treat.
> ...


clicker training this way is good to teach something like shake a paw. You can also use luring. But you are right , use a clicker it is much more precise , non emotional and studies have shown that the sound of a clicker reaches the amygdala. Another advantage of the clicker over a spoken word is that the dog's central nervous
system can process the click many times faster than it can process a word.
A spoken word must be recognized and interpreted before the dog understands
that a behavior is being marked. In contrast, a click is processed almost instantaneously.
Karen Pryor and veterinary neurophysiologist Barbara Schoening have been doing
some research into the neuropsychology of clicker training in an attempt to
discover exactly why clickers do work so well. Their hypothesis is that the click is
processed in a different part of the brain than spoken words are. The click, they
believe, goes directly to the instinctive, reflexive, part of the brain (the amygdala,
which is part of the limbic system) instead of having to go to the "thinking" part
of the brain (the cortex). According to Pryor in an article entitled The Neurophysiology
of Clicker Training.
Research in neurophysiology has identified the kinds of stimuli-bright lights,
sudden sharp sounds-that reach the amygdala first, before reaching the cortex
or thinking part of the brain. The click is that kind of stimulus. Other research,
on conditioned fear responses in humans, shows that these also are established
via the amygdala, and are characterized by a pattern of very rapid learning, often
on a single trial, long-term retention, and a big surge of concomitant emotions..
. .Barbara and I hypothesize that the clicker is a conditioned 'joy' stimulus
that is acquired and recognized through those same primitive pathways, which
would help explain why it is so very different from, say, a human word, in its
effect.
Once a dog is properly conditioned on the clicker, he will react to the clicker
reflexively. He literally cannot help but respond. I don't know anyone who has
conditioned a verbal marker (such as "yes" or "good") to such a high degree. The
clicker is definitely a power tool! P.S. You are lucky to be going to the San Francisco SPCA. This is Jean Donaldson's school. She rocks.


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## Annie Clark (Nov 6, 2008)

Is it ever too late to try clicker training? Nala is 3! And she does love to shake hands! I just kept picking up her paw and she got it. My husband was impressed!

Annie


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## Perugina (May 28, 2008)

"Paw" or "Shake" is not Sophie's favorite trick, but we did teach it to her. Right now her favorites are "bang bang" and "rollover". 

Sophie uses her paws a lot. Her favorite game is to get treats out of a capped bottle...keeps her busy for awhile so we can read the paper in peace!


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## HavaTwizz (Aug 16, 2009)

The Bang trick is so funny. I saw my MIL's dog do
that trick. How did you get the dog to do that?
Thanks in advance....


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Annie Clark said:


> Is it ever too late to try clicker training? Nala is 3! And she does love to shake hands! I just kept picking up her paw and she got it. My husband was impressed!
> 
> Annie


Annie ,it is never too late to do anything with a dog, especially training. If you are interested in clicker training ,here is the site of Karen Pryor who basically brought it to the forefront. http://www.clickertraining.com/


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## nanfis (Apr 11, 2009)

Hi Mikie learned to shake hands and hi five about two months ago, he is now 7 mos...maybe he just needs more time


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## nanfis (Apr 11, 2009)

Never too late for clicker training just need to "load" the clicker (s0 the dog knows when he hears that sound its a good thing) and start. Mikie trained easy on it..knows all does very little


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## KellyA (Jul 7, 2009)

Mozart has mastered the 'high five' I think is so cute.

Kelly & Mozart


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

Dash was a baby when he learned it and he is very "pawy" so it just came natural and it was him learning my language with me putting a cue. But when we do therapy dogs the kids love it and it is a great introduction. But Dash eventually hides his paws after 80 high 5's!


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

*Amanda I love your signature photo!!*
Both Oliver and Comet will shake hands


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