How to Train a Dog to Shake Hands
Teaching a dog to shake hands takes three short sessions of about five minutes each. Hold a treat in your closed fist at paw height, wait for your dog to paw at it, mark the moment with “yes” or a clicker, then name it “shake” once the behavior is consistent. Most dogs have this trick in three to seven days.
The timeline depends on your dog’s prior training history and how often you train. A dog that already knows “sit” has the attention and impulse control to nail shake in a weekend. A puppy or untrained adult may need a few extra sessions to stay focused. The mechanics are the same either way.
What do you need before you start training?
Three things: high-value treats cut to pea size, a quiet space with no off-leash distractions, and a dog that will sit on cue. The American Kennel Club’s training resources consistently note that a calm environment cuts session time roughly in half compared to training around toys, kids, or other dogs (AKC Training Fundamentals).
Use soft treats your dog does not get at any other time. Hard biscuits slow delivery, and slow delivery breaks the timing link between behavior and reward. Freeze-dried liver, small chicken pieces, or string cheese torn into bits all work. Keep total treat weight per session under 10 percent of your dog’s daily calorie allowance.
A clicker is optional but useful for precision. The verbal “yes” marker works just as well if you keep timing tight: say “yes” the instant the paw leaves the ground, not after it lands in your hand.
How long does it take a dog to learn shake?
Most dogs reach fluency in three to seven training days with two to three five-minute sessions per day. That is roughly 30 to 45 minutes of total training time across the week.
Breed and age affect the curve but not the ceiling. Herding breeds and retrievers often pick up the paw motion in session one because they naturally use their paws to investigate objects. Hounds and bulldog types can take a day or two longer since they default to nose work first. Every healthy dog can learn this trick. The only variable is how many repetitions it takes to reach consistency.
Here is what the progression looks like for most dogs:
| Day | What to expect | Session goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dog noses or paws at fist randomly | Any paw movement earns the treat |
| 2 | Dog paws deliberately but inconsistently | 7 out of 10 paw-first attempts in a row |
| 3 | Dog paws reliably without a loaded fist | Fade the lure, open palm facing up |
| 4-5 | Dog paws an open hand on sight | Add the verbal cue before extending the hand |
| 6-7 | Dog shakes on verbal cue alone | Proof the behavior in two or three new locations |
Some dogs skip ahead. If your dog is pawing reliably on day two, move to day three’s goal. Do not hold them at an earlier step just to follow a schedule.
What is the step-by-step method to train a dog to shake hands?
Work through these steps in order. Do not jump ahead until the current step is solid across eight out of 10 attempts.
Step 1: Load the lure. Put a treat in your right fist, hold it at your dog’s chest height, and let them sniff it. Say nothing. Wait.
Step 2: Wait for paw contact. Your dog will try their nose first. Ignore it. The moment a paw touches your fist, open your hand and deliver the treat. Say “yes” as the paw makes contact. Run 10 repetitions.
Step 3: Raise the standard. After five successful paw touches in a row, stop rewarding nose contact. Only a paw gets the treat. This usually happens naturally, but be deliberate about it.
Step 4: Fade the treat from the fist. Hold an empty fist at the same position. Your dog paws it expecting the treat. Deliver the treat from your other hand or your pocket right after the paw contact. Run 10 reps. If your dog stares at you instead of pawing, drop back to the treat-in-fist version for two reps, then try empty again.
Step 5: Open your palm. Switch from a closed fist to a flat palm facing up, held at the same height. Your dog should paw your open palm. Deliver the treat. This is the handshake position most people picture.
Step 6: Add the verbal cue. Once your dog paws your open palm across eight out of 10 tries, say “shake” one second before you extend your hand. Say it once, in a calm clear tone. If your dog does not respond, wait five seconds, then extend the hand as a visual prompt. Reward the paw contact but do not repeat the cue word that rep.
Step 7: Proof it. Training only in your kitchen means your dog has learned a kitchen trick, not shake as a real skill. Take the behavior to three or four new spots: the living room, the backyard, a sidewalk. Practice with calm visitors offering their hand if your dog is comfortable with unfamiliar people.
Why won’t my dog lift its paw during training?
Three things typically block the paw lift: the treat height is wrong, the dog is anxious about experimenting, or there is a physical reason the dog avoids lifting that leg.
Check the height first. Hold your fist or palm at the dog’s chest level, not near their face. A treat held too high sends the dog into nose-targeting or jumping.
Check for pain. If your dog hesitates on one specific paw, have a vet rule out soreness, nail overgrowth, or a joint issue before continuing. A dog that winces or shifts weight during training is communicating something worth investigating.
Check your patience. Most owners quit too fast. After you present the lure fist, wait at least 20 to 30 seconds before repositioning. Your dog needs time to problem-solve. Moving the fist or speaking too early teaches them that waiting is correct.
Try the other paw. Some dogs lead naturally with the left. If you always extend your right hand and your dog keeps lifting the wrong foot, switch hands. Build the behavior on whichever paw comes naturally first, then transfer to the other side later.
The ASPCA recommends keeping sessions short and positive, especially when a dog appears stuck. If frustration builds on either side, end the session on any small win and return in an hour (ASPCA Dog Training).
How do you get a dog to shake with other people?
Generalization is where most shake training falls apart. A dog that shakes for you reliably will often look blank when a stranger extends their hand. This is normal. Dogs do not automatically transfer a behavior across people, locations, or contexts.
Run what trainers call stranger-proofing. Invite one household member or a calm visitor to extend a flat palm to your dog. If your dog hesitates, you say “shake” as a prompt. When your dog paws the visitor’s hand, the visitor delivers the treat from their own pocket. Repeat with a second person. Add a third.
Do this across several days, not all in one session. One new person per session is enough for most dogs. Flooding a dog with too many strangers at once tends to produce shutting down or anxious mouthing.
Within two weeks of stranger-proofing, most dogs respond to an unfamiliar open palm when the cue word comes first. The goal is not to remove the verbal cue but to have the dog respond to the combined signal (word plus hand) from anyone, not just you.
Can puppies learn to shake hands?
Yes. Puppies as young as eight weeks can learn the paw motion. The steps are identical to adult training. The main adjustment is shorter sessions: three minutes instead of five, one session per day until 12 weeks old. Young puppies fatigue fast and lose focus before you lose patience, so stopping before they check out matters more than hitting a rep count.
Puppies between 8 and 16 weeks are in a critical socialization window. Shake training fits well here because it builds focused attention on a human hand without intimidation or discomfort.
One thing to avoid with puppies: do not let children demand the shake repeatedly at high speed. Kids grabbing a puppy’s paw without the training context can create hand-shyness that takes weeks to undo.
What comes after shake? Building on the skill
Once shake is solid on cue in multiple locations and with different people, you have a training foundation to build on quickly. Wave (paw lift without contact) and high five (vertical palm target) are natural next steps. Both typically take one to two days because the paw-lift pattern is already trained.
From there, “other paw” (a separate cue for the opposite foot) is a clean impulse-control exercise. You add a second verbal cue and reward only the non-dominant foot.
These follow-on tricks are not just entertainment. Repeated short training sessions using hand targets improve a dog’s focus and responsiveness in practical contexts, including grooming and vet handling. A dog that lifts a paw on cue is easier to examine and less likely to struggle during nail trims.
FAQ
Does my dog need to know “sit” before learning shake? No, but it helps. Sit keeps the dog stationary so you work cleanly without chasing them around. If your dog does not yet sit reliably, practice three reps of sit before each shake session. The stay-still habit speeds up the paw work.
Should I use “shake” or “paw” as the cue word? Either works. Pick one and stay consistent. Switching between “shake,” “paw,” and “give me five” in the same week makes the cue ambiguous and slows the dog’s response. If your dog already knows one version, stick with it.
How many treats will my dog go through per session? Expect 15 to 20 small treats per five-minute session during the learning phase. Once your dog is fluent, shift to a variable ratio: reward every second or third correct shake, chosen unpredictably. Variable reinforcement builds stronger, more durable behavior than treating every single rep.
What if my dog mouths my hand instead of pawing it? Some dogs, especially puppies, default to mouthing when excited. Keep your fist tight and hold still. Pulling your hand back rewards the mouthing by creating movement. Stillness removes the payoff. When the dog paws instead of mouths, reward immediately.
Can older dogs learn shake? Yes. The idea that old dogs cannot learn new tricks has no behavioral basis. Healthy older dogs learn new behaviors at a similar rate to adults. The main variable is prior training experience, not age. An older dog with a reward-training history often picks up shake faster than an untrained young dog.
Researched and tested by the DogDrills Team.