hm.... Shake?

**WillV341** · 09-27-2008, 02:15 PM

my little buddy has never been to obedience or even a basic training course for that matter. Trained by me all the way around (come, sit, lie down, up(on the hinds), up(on the couch), down(off people), down(off couch) and a few little things to keep him from running the house.) I think its about time we both learn something new, mix it up a little, and have some fun with each other in the process. Kind of keeping both of our minds busy. So the question I pose to you, JL training gurus, is...

what have you done to teach your dog to shake? paw or to dry off, either one. just a little something for the both of us to do.

thanks in advance everyone.

**Bob Pr.** · 09-27-2008, 10:44 PM

I've trained Puff to shake (water or leaves off) on command.

I did it by noticing when she'd usually shake (after being in the water OR rolling on her back on a lawn) and then saying "Puff! SHAKE!!" just before she'd naturally shake anyway. <They assume a particular posture and position just before shaking.> At the same time, I also rapidly rotated my hand back and forth as a visual signal.

Whenever that resulted in the desired response, I praised and treated (food= + reinforcement).

HTH

**sarah** · 09-27-2008, 10:55 PM

we taught Milly to shake paws.

I just would pick up her paw and shake it .... saying "shake" and then praise and treat. Eventually if I put my hand out she'd give me her paw and I'd treat and praise after

We then taught her "other paw" so she'll give you one paw for "shake" and then "other paw" with her other one for shaking that. It was pretty easy - took us about 48 hours to teach it to her.

**Garth** · 09-28-2008, 01:21 AM

I "taught" Jo to wag is tail

(as if ANY Lab needs teaching)

When he was already wagging it, I'd tell him "wag your tail, GOOD BOY!" which of course would make him do it harder. I stretched that to things like, "If you want your dinner, wag your tail". I also got into trouble from some friends once, because I told him, "if you're stupid, wag your tail".

I was told I was cruel & was treating the dog like crap.

What they didn't realize was, he was only responding to the command, "wag your tail" (which he was already doing anyway) but it made him feel soooo clever because every time he did it, he got rewarded.

**WillV341** · 09-28-2008, 07:34 PM

haha, thats great Garth! Thanks for the tips everyone, time to get to work!

**GulfCoast** · 09-30-2008, 07:31 PM

Easy way to teach them to "shake off" water, is to get them wet, and rub gently against the grain of the fur saying "shake it off" while waving your hand. The rubbing makes them shake. Once you have that chained, they will do it when dry, too!

**leximom** · 10-02-2008, 10:08 PM

I've also used both Bob and Sarahnye's methods in the past with success. I've already started using the shake-off method with my 14 wk old.
Have fun!

**TimC.** · 10-11-2008, 12:10 AM

I would make Oona sit and then I would put my hand on her elbow and slide it down to her paw and lift it up as I said "Shake." I would reinforce it with a treat. When she learned this I would do the same thing but tell her "Other Paw." She got it in a couple of weeks.
Olie