Training Tip Tuesday – Shake

I do love a good shake…. especially just after I get out of the water and stand really close to mum and give a really good shake (mum not normally as excited) but this is a more polite shake today. This shake is the greeting shake and I especially love doing this as a trick for the little humans that we meet on our day to day journeys. The little humans that are a bit shy seem to have a lovely smile after we shake hands.

So how do you do shake? Well it is pretty easy really. First you need to put your bum on the ground (otherwise known as sit). Now when teaching to shake it is much easier if the human is down at your level (ideally sitting or kneeling in front of you). They need to hold their hand out palm facing up just in front of your paw (only just off the ground). When you raise your paw into the palm they need to say “yes” and give you a treat. Don’t have them manually move the paw into the hand. Maybe just nudge it but otherwise just have patience and have the human move their hand closer to the ground and your paw. A lovely happy “yes” and treat and then do it a couple more times (remember don’t over do it). Once you start to get it then they can lift their hand a bit higher and over time do a shake from standing (that is why little humans are great at this… they are more my level to shake with).

Remember we can also be a bit like Zoolander… I only shake with my left. So get your human to try both sides and see which one seems more natural. Mum has tried to get me to shake with my right and I am sure we could work on it… just like Derek Zoolander…. but for the moment I just shake left.

So happy shaking pals… hope you enjoy a fun Training Tip Tuesday and don’t forget to check out more on the Training Tips st World Dog Style Page and check out Facebook and Instagram for more 1st World Dog fun.