How do you teach a dog to shake?

Start from a steady sit. Hold out a closed fist with a treat hidden inside, at your dog's level: the moment he rests his paw on it, mark it with a « yes! » and reward from your other hand. Then move on to an open, palm-up hand, and finally the word « paw » on its own. A few three-minute sessions are all it takes.

How do you get a dog to shake without treats?

The treat is only a starting point: fade it early. As soon as the move flows, present an empty hand, mark it with a « yes! » and pay another way, with an enthusiastic voice, a stroke or a game. Simple rule: if you start a session without treats, finish it without, or your dog learns that you'll cave.

At what age can you teach a puppy to shake?

As soon as your puppy can hold a settled sit, often around two to three months, in very short sessions (one to two minutes). It's a ground-level trick, with no jumping or strain on the joints, so it suits a young dog. Stick to gentle placements and stop while he's still asking for more.

My dog shakes too hard and scratches, what can I do?

Never mark a scratchy paw: take your hand away for a second and offer it again. You only say « yes! » and reward for gentle placements. Gentleness matters just as much as the rest, especially around a child: keep any high five supervised while your dog is still raking.

How do you teach a dog to high five?

Start from a reliable « shake ». Gradually turn your palm towards vertical, fingers pointing up, never going above your dog's shoulder. Mark the clean, gentle tap with a distinct word, « high five », and reward from your other hand. A different cue for each move, otherwise he'll muddle up the paw and the high five.

How do you teach a dog to wave?

Ask for a high five, then pull your hand away just before contact: the paw « paddles » through the air. Mark that swipe, shape two or three movements, then add the cue « wave » with a waving gesture. It's the most demanding variation for balance: if your dog leans in or puts his paw down, go back to the high five, that's perfectly fine too.

Paw, high five and wave

Teaching your dog tricksPart of · Teaching your dog tricks

Paw, high five and wave

11 min read

Your dog can sit? You can teach him to give a paw in a few sessions: close your fist around a treat, hold it out near him, mark with a bright “yes!” the moment a paw lifts off the ground, then reward with the other hand. From there come two variations, the high five and the wave, each with its own cue word.

The groundwork for stress-free nail trims

“Give a paw” is not just a trick to show off. It is a chance to get your dog used to having his paws handled, which pays off the day you need to trim his nails without holding him still by force. It gives his brain something to do: a dog working out the right answer tires himself almost as much as a dog who runs. It builds confidence in the shy dog who dares to offer a movement of his own accord. And it trains you to spot the right instant to mark, without the pressure of a recall out in the open. A 2011 study on pet dogs measured it: the dogs whose owners use the most rewards do better on a new exercise.

Before you start, gather these basics, work in short sessions, and stop while your dog is still asking for more.

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Give a paw

Your dog is sitting and calm. Crouch or kneel beside him at the start, it helps him understand faster.

Hold out your closed fist

Hide a treat in your closed fist and hold it out at your dog's chest height, without touching him. He sniffs, licks, sometimes nudges with his muzzle, then often lifts a front paw to scratch at your fist and try to open it: mark with a bright “yes!” at the precise instant his paw leaves the ground, even by a centimetre or two, whether it touches your fist or not yet. Right at the start, the smallest lift counts, you do not need him to place the paw on your hand, that comes at the next step. Then open your hand and reward. Move on when he lifts the paw three or four times in a row, over two or three short sessions. Never reward a nudge of the nose, only the paw: if he pushes with his nose, keep the fist closed and wait, without moving your hand or repeating the gesture, the paw comes in the end. If he sniffs your fist then loses interest, hold it there another ten seconds or so; if he really checks out, put the treat away, take a short break and try again later. If after two or three sessions he genuinely only uses his muzzle and never his paw, hold the closed fist in front of him with one hand and, with your free hand, gently touch the back of one of his front paws, low down the leg: that contact often triggers a paw-lift reflex. Mark at the exact moment it lifts, then reward. And if he stands up and breaks his sit, calmly ask for the sit again, without telling him off, then pick up where you left off; if he keeps getting up, go back to crouching right next to him, one notch back.

Move on to the open hand

Open your fist, now empty, then turn your palm up in front of him. The treat is hidden in your other hand. He places his paw in your palm: you mark with a bright “yes!” at the instant of contact, you say “paw”, you reward with the other hand. A small note on the cue word: here you say it just AFTER the movement, to give it a name; later it will come BEFORE the movement and become the signal that triggers it. Only mark the soft placements: a paw that slaps or scrapes your skin does not pay, you present the hand again, still, and wait for a calmer placement. Move on when he places his paw in your palm three or four times in a row without you having to move.

Stand up straight

Hold your flat hand out in front of your dog, standing this time, never going above the point of his shoulder. Ask for “paw” before he moves. Mark with a bright “yes!” the moment his paw touches your hand, then reward with the other hand. Keep going until he answers the cue word, with you standing, three or four times in a row.

Fade the hand away

Ask for “paw”, with the hand only barely sketched at first, then without holding out your hand at all: the movement should come on the word alone. As there is no hand left to touch, mark with a bright “yes!” as soon as his paw lifts towards the spot where your hand usually was, then reward. When he lifts the paw on the word alone, several times in a row, the trick is learned: this is what the next two variations build on, the high five and the wave.

The paw you are marking here lands for a second then goes back down: it is this brief version that the high five and the wave come from. Separately, to prepare for a nail trim, you can train a paw that stays put: once the trick is learned, let it rest for a second or two in your hand before you mark, then brush the tops of the toes. Do not mix the two, the variations always start from the brief version.

Next: the high five, then the wave

Once the paw is soft and reliable, the same movement branches into two tricks that go higher and higher. Keep a different word for each one, otherwise your dog cannot guess what you are asking of him.

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Your dog taps cleanly on your vertical palm, on the cue word “high five”.
- Starting from the reliable paw, gradually tilt your palm from horizontal to vertical, fingers pointing up
- Stay at chest then shoulder height, never higher
- Mark the clean, soft tap with a bright “yes!”, say the new cue word “high five”, then reward with the other hand
Move on when: Count a soft, successful tap three or four times in a row, over two or three sessions, before you move on to the wave.
The paw waves in the air near the muzzle, on the cue word “wave”, with no contact with your hand.
- Ask for a high five, then pull your hand up and slightly towards you, out of reach, just before contact: his paw carries on with its momentum and rises into thin air
- Mark that flick with a bright “yes!”, repeat and let the paw go a little higher each time, up to muzzle height
- Once the paw is reliable in the air, add the cue word “wave” with a waving gesture: open hand, fingers up at face height, palm swinging left and right two or three times, like a goodbye
Move on when: Unlike the high five, the wave goes above the shoulder: build it in small steps, over several sessions, and aim for the paw in the air three or four times in a row on the cue word. If your dog leans over or puts the paw down, drop back to the high five, that is perfectly good too.

The wave on the effort scale

Give a paw (easy)Wave (demanding)

Holding a seated balance, one paw in the air with nothing to lean on and higher and higher, takes real effort from stiff, heavy or older dogs: the wave is in fact often listed among the intermediate-level tricks.

Go all the way to the wave if

Your dog is young, supple and steady on his feet
He holds a stable sit and gives a paw or high fives gently
He offers it of his own accord, without you having to insist

Stick to the paw or the high five if

Your dog is older, stiff, overweight or a large breed
He leans over, puts the paw down or stands up as soon as you go higher
Asking him to place the paw in exactly the right spot bothers him: keep it simple, do not push

The traps that derail the learning

The traps to avoid

Raising your hand too high, too fast: the dog stands up or jumps. Height only goes up on a movement that is already reliable.
Emptying the fist too early: he goes back to sniffing or nudging, and the learning stalls.
Paying for scratchy paws: a paw that scrapes your skin, to the point where you feel the claws, becomes unpleasant, and even risky with a child around. Only mark the soft placements.
Using the same cue word for all three moves: the paw, the high five and the wave become impossible for him to tell apart. Keep one distinct word per variation.
Grabbing or lifting the paw to “show” him: no physical handling, the dog gives, your hand never takes.
Rewarding a spontaneous paw placed on your arm: otherwise he starts tapping to ask for everything. The paw only pays when it has been asked for.

Rooney & Cowan — Training methods and owner-dog interactions: links with dog behaviour and learning ability (2011)

Going further

guide“Touch”: teaching your dog to boop your handThe basic trick that many others come from, a good next step after the paw.Read the guide guideTrimming your dog's nails without stressTurn “give a paw” into accepted care, so you can trim the nails without holding him still by force.Read the guide guideThe foundations: teaching a trick with rewardsThe basics of positive training to know before you start stacking up tricks.Read the guide guideThe “sit”The “sit” is often the prerequisite before the paw: go back over it first if you need to.Read the guide guideSit prettyAnother trick in the same family, to move on to once the paw is solid.Read the guide guideCross your pawsThe natural next step once your dog offers his paw easily.Read the guide

Frequently asked questions

How do you teach a dog to give a paw?

Start from a steady sit. Hold out a closed fist with a treat hidden inside, at your dog's height: mark with a bright “yes!” the instant a front paw leaves the ground, then reward with the other hand. Next move on to the open hand, palm up, then to the cue word “paw” alone, hand almost still. Keep the sessions short, spread over several weeks.

How do you get your dog to give a paw without treats?

The treat is only a starting point: stop hiding it in your hand as soon as the movement flows. Hold out the empty hand, mark with a bright “yes!” and reward another way, with an enthusiastic voice, a stroke or a game. Simple rule: if you start a session without treats, finish it without, otherwise your dog learns that you give in.

At what age can you teach a puppy to give a paw?

As soon as your puppy holds a settled sit, often around two to three months old, in very short sessions. It is a ground-level trick, with no jumping and no balancing effort, so it suits a young dog. Stick to soft placements and stop while he is still asking for more.

My dog gives his paw too hard and scratches, what can I do?

Never mark a scratchy paw: take your hand away for a second, then hold it out again, and only reward the soft placements, the ones where you do not feel the paw scraping your skin. This matters especially with a child in the house: keep the high five supervised for as long as the dog still scratches.

How do I teach my dog to high five?

Start from a reliable “give a paw”. Gradually tilt your palm towards vertical, fingers up, never going above your dog's shoulder. Mark the clean, soft tap with a distinct cue word, “high five”, and reward with the other hand. Keep a different word for each movement, otherwise your dog mixes up the paw and the high five.

How do I teach my dog to wave?

Ask for a high five, then pull your hand up and out of reach just before contact: the paw carries on with its momentum and rises into thin air. Mark that flick with a bright “yes!”, repeat and let it go up towards the muzzle, then add the cue word “wave” with a waving gesture, palm swinging left and right. This is the most demanding variation for balance: if your dog leans over or puts the paw down, go back to the high five, that is perfect too.

Updated on July 11, 2026Sources

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