Answers to Everyday Questions : How can I train my dog to give me a high five or shake hands?

How can I train my dog to give me a high five or shake hands?

13 Responses to “How can I train my dog to give me a high five or shake hands?”

1. Juliiahh<333 said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 5:14 am

   i taught my 8yr old cocker mix by holding a peice of chicken (cooked of course) in my hand and she got excited and scratched my hand to open it to get the chicken.
   although my poodle will not do squat he just wants food.

   good luck =]
2. Ellie said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 5:59 am

   Say “shake” while taking his paw and shaking it. Then give a treat right after. Soon he’ll be able to hold his paw out right when you say “shake,” if you’re consistent.
3. healthyes said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 6:41 am

   Here is an ad for a great training product that would help you teach your dog all the tricks, plus help you with any behavior problems he might have.

   http://www.usfreeads.com/1280215-cls.html
4. An0nym0us mAn1Ac said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 6:55 am

   Use rewards when he does it right.

   Speak clearly to him, ‘Shake’, or ‘High Five’, and then help him with the action. Give the treat. Eventually he will recognized the words and do the action by himself. So cute when my dog high fives people. They love it.
   Also, when my dog needs to go outside, instead of barking or scratching, he comes over and puts his paw on my leg and stares at me. Soooo cute.
5. JOJO said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 7:23 am

   you can say hi five or shake and after you say that then pick up one of his/ her paws. this will tell the dog that when you say it to give them their paw.( lower your hand also)
6. RAWR said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 8:03 am

   It’s easiest if it’s a puppy if not no worries, It’ll work just as well. Especially if your dog respects you, loves you, obeys you etc.

   Tell your dog to sit. Than take one of his or her favorite treats and hide it in your hand. Your dog will be trying to do whatever it takes to earn it, as long as you’ve been rewarding him/her. You should kind of show your dog what to do by physically lifting it’s paw and placing it in your hand, it’ll resist but do that enough, reward him/her right when he gets it correct and then do the process over and over then take away the treat and soon enough he’ll just do it hoping for the reward wether he gets it or not. Good luck 🙂
7. ondballpaul said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 8:43 am

   This is a really cool site full of doggy tricks! I taught my GSD the ‘crawl’ one….

   http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/5952/indexorg.html
8. barkbite said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 9:29 am

   make him sit first. Then take his paw in your hand and say shake, dont hold it long at first as it may freak him out a little. Then give him a treat and praise. Repeat a few times a day and he should pick it up fast Once he has mastered shake you can move onto high five. Hold your hand up higher than you would for shake with your flat palm facing him. He should reach up for it as he would for shake, give the command highfive. Then treat and praise! They are pretty basic, if you practice it should not take long to learn
   * You can do do it as the bellow poster said with out using a cue, it is a popular method espescially when used with clicker training. My self i prefer to use the cue word. I find my dogs pick it up faster with it
9. Cassandra said :
   October 29th, 2010 at 10:05 am

   Don’t start using the words “shake” or “high five” until the dog does the trick for food first. If you over use ANY words while training, your dog will associate the words with the wrong behaviours. Use the technique from the answerer before me, but don’t start using the “trick words” until your dog is giving you the desired outcome. I thought someone would have said that by now…there’s so many “experts” here…
10. froggy said :
    October 29th, 2010 at 10:22 am

    i answered a ? just like this early today. but anyhow this is how i got my dog to give 5. i made him sit. i got down in front of him w/a treat or soemthing. hold it up and say give me 5,take there paw and smack his paw to your hand. give them the treat. (my dog does both paws). each time u got to say give me 5 or shake whatever. soon enough the dog will get it. mine had it down pat in a week. GOOD LUCK
11. Cindy said :
    October 29th, 2010 at 11:20 am

    Most dogs are naturally responsive so you should be able to master this trick in no time! When your dog is sitting, put out your hand – low enough that he doesn’t have to strain to place his paw in your hand. Take his paw gently into your hand and say “Shake hands”. Follow with a “good boy” and repeat a few times. If you do this for a couple of minutes over a few days, your dog will quickly associate the gesture, command and action. Good luck!
12. Derby P said :
    October 29th, 2010 at 11:44 am

    great question, I came across a website that dose hi fives, go to http://www.squidoo.com/my-2-cents-dog-reviews
    they give you 7 free lessons and more stuff, check it out, good luck
13. Stephanie C said :
    October 29th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    I taught both of my dogs to shake by picking up their paw while saying ‘Shake’. I would then give them a treat and tell them good. They picked it up pretty quickly. It didn’t take too long until I could just say shake and tap their paw and they would pick it up and put it in my hand. Now, I just have to say shake and they obey. Be patient and persistent. Once you have them doing that gradually turn your hand into the high five position and and change the command to ‘give me five’ or whatever you would like. Dogs are more body language driven than vocal anyway.

    Good Luck!

    Stephanie
    http://www.purebredpups.org
    http://www.designermixes.org