Teaching your dog how to shake can be a difficult trick to take on. It's usually a behavior that dogs do without even think about it, sort of like a reflex. If they don't realize they are doing a behavior, it may take longer for them to associate it with a command. But don't get discouraged, you and your pal will be shaking your tail-feathers together in no time! Here are the steps to follow so you can teach your dog this awesome trick:
- Figure out what triggers your dog to shake. Many dogs shake just after taking a bath. Other dogs shake after taking a nap while even other dogs shake after coming in from the outside. Whatever the trigger is, jot it down and be ready to replicate it.
- Manage to have your dog shake with whatever trigger you previously discovered. As soon as they shake, immediately give a treat and use the clicker. Make sure you over-exaggerate the first few praises. Since this is more of a reflex action you have to make sure the dog is invested in figuring out what the action that lead to such a huge reward is.
- After a few times of repeating the shake behavior with exaggerated rewards and praise, start attributing a command to the action. I like to say "Pop your booty!" but you can simply use "Shake!"
- In no time you and Fido will be able to go out to the hottest club and shake together!
And there you have it, a basic breakdown on how to teach your dog to shake. It's a hard dog trick to teach so don't become upset if they aren't catching on too quickly. It's very important to keep a strong relationship between you and your best friend. This relationship should never be built on negative reinforcement and actions. Also keep the dog training sessions short and fun. If your pal is starting to get distracted or just plain bored, then the session should be over and another activity should take it's place. Less learning will go on if the dog is not invested in the session and more frustration will be bound to happen.
So remember, always use your training sessions as a bonding experience and never get frustrated. Positive reinforcement and having fun is the key to all successful training. Without these two aspects, you will find a much harder time in trying to train your dog tricks. You also just won't have a good time and neither will your puppy.
If you want more training tips and techniques then check out Good Dog! Tricks. Sign up for the newsletter and receive a FREE dog training manual along with other great things and chances to win prizes for you and your dog!
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