How to teach your dog the command "Give paw" - tips and exercises. How to teach a dog to give a paw on command How to teach an adult dog to give a paw

In the second method, the dog sits in front of him and gives the command: "Give a paw." After that, they take the paw in their hand and raise it to shoulder level. After that, the dog must be praised and given a treat.

3rd method

In the third method, the dog is also seated in front of him so that he can easily reach the owner. She is given the command "Give a paw" and gently lift the dog's paw with the fingers of the left hand and direct it to the right hand. This is done as if the dog itself put its paw into the palm of a person.

This exercise is best done when the first previous methods have already been done and the puppy already has a rough idea of what is required of him. After the dog's paw is in the owner's right hand, the puppy must be praised and.

Important rules in teaching the command “Give a paw!”

All three exercises should be repeated several times a day, but not for long, but with obligatory breaks.
It is best to do this during games so that he always has a positive reaction to the team. The dog should develop the habit that as soon as he hears the command, he stretches out his paw. When this command is executed brilliantly, the task of the puppy can be complicated.
After he gave his paw on command, it must be lowered and commanded: "Another paw." And start doing the same exercises with the other paw.
Over time, you can simply show or lightly touch the desired paw with your hand.
For the correct performance, you should always praise and encourage the puppy.
As a result, the dog should give the second paw without a command, and after the first one is released.
Over time, treats are given to the dog less and less so that the command is well executed for one praise.

Among the mandatory and optional commands, the command “give paw” is optional. However, it also has a certain functional significance, and also helps to establish and consolidate psychological contact between the dog and its owner. How to teach a dog the “give paw” command?

Dog training is then successful if it takes into account the instincts and character of the animal. Teaching the paw-paw command is easy, as it is also based on an innate instinct - the movements of a newborn puppy, called the milky step. The puppy "massages" the mother's belly to get more milk. From infancy, a logical chain is formed in him - the movement of the paws is associated with pleasure. Therefore, puppies learn to follow this command so quickly. For a maximum of 7 days, the dog will already give a paw.

The handshake is also important for establishing a close emotional connection with the dog. She feels a friendly disposition, approval, which is superimposed on an already existing instinct. The command “give a paw” has a practical meaning:

inspection of the pads after a walk and treatment, if necessary, of scratches and damage;
nail care - trimming or filing;
putting on shoes on the paws.

Dogs always have a hierarchy. He also projects it onto the "pack" in which the dog lives. Therefore, it is better for the leader of the “pack” to train the dog to execute the command, so the desire to win the favor of the leader will stimulate him to quickly and correctly learn the lesson.

Conditions for learning

It is better to start training at the age of 4-5 months. During this period, the puppy has already become aware of himself as a dog, recognized the “alpha” in the social hierarchy and learned some commands, for example, “sit”, from which he will execute the command “give a paw”. To make learning easier, you need to:

environmental stimuli did not distract the puppy;
he must not be too hungry or full for the food reward to elicit an appropriate response. The optimal training time is 1.5-2 hours after feeding;
pieces of treats should not be too large so that the dog does not have time to quickly get enough and lose interest, and not too small so that they do not fall out of the mouth;
the owner and the dog must be in a good mood;
training should not be too long and interspersed with periods of rest, so as not to cause psychological overstrain. It is enough to spend 5-10 minutes on a lesson every day;
training should be consistent and regular.

There is no lower age limit for teaching the “give paw” command. Dogs retain learning for a long time.

Sequence of learning

The easiest way to teach a dog a command is to use a treat as a reward and incentive. To consistently master the “give paw” command, you must:

give the command "sit";
hold a piece of treat in your hand and let the puppy sniff your hand;
when the puppy becomes interested and tries to unclench his fingers, wielding his nose, it is recommended to wait for him to try again, helping with his paw;
unclench your hand, giving a treat, and with your free hand hold the puppy's paw above the wrist for 1-2 seconds, saying the words of the command.
repeat the exercise 3-4 times.

The issuance of treats should be supported by vocal and tactile encouragement - say "good" and stroke the puppy. Gradually, the number of food reward signals should be reduced and accustomed to the vocal expression of approval. If the puppy refuses to raise his paw, then he needs to be helped by raising the limb to the level of his shoulder and carefully holding it so as not to cause discomfort to the dog and prevent a fall.

Any violence or manifestation of irritation, discontent should be excluded. The dog should feel only positive emotions. Games in between lessons will help the dog to change mental stress to physical, which will prevent overwork and improve mood.

Video on how to teach a dog to give a paw

When a team is considered mastered

The command is considered learned if the dog begins to give a paw:

immediately after the voice command - no later than 2-3 seconds;
from any position - sitting, lying, standing;
laying a paw on a support or holding a canopy;
without nutritional encouragement.

According to the same scenario, you can train a dog without food encouragement, expressing approval only by voice and stroking. It will take a little longer, but then the little sly one will not manipulate the owner, begging for a treat.

After the dog has mastered the command, you can begin to teach him to give another paw. This one will happen faster, since the “give another paw” command is just a complicated version of the first one. Having mastered the “give paw” command, you can complicate it by commanding “give the left or right paw”, “give the hind paw”, “high five”, and so on. This will help develop behavioral abilities, strengthen the vestibular apparatus, bring the owner and pet even closer, and teach them to concentrate on the object.

Why would you need the “give paw” command?

Some inexperienced dog owners believe that the “give paw” command is just for fun, as if the animal is pulling its paw to the owner, “hello” to him. In fact, a pet trained in such a command will be able to:

Serve a limb so that the owner can inspect that there are no wounds on it (splinters, bites, sucked mites, thorns, etc.);
Stretch out the paw without hindrance so that the owner can trim the claws;
Thread paws into clothes (shoes);
Without delay, give paws for washing after a walk.

In addition, the command "give a paw" can be a kind of symbol of the owner's praise, when the animal behaved perfectly during a walk or fulfilled all the wishes of the owner. That is, the contact of a human palm with a dog's paw can be regarded as a gesture of "hands" (or "high five").

How to teach a dog to give a paw?

Before you teach your dog the “give paw” command, remember the following points:

The minimum age of a puppy at which he can learn commands is 2-3 months. Earlier, you can not expect much success from the baby;
A team can be taught to an adult animal, but the lessons of puppies are more successful;
Both the animal and its owner must be in excellent spirits;
The dog during training should not be hungry or too full. It is advisable to start the lesson 1.5-2 hours after eating and walking;
Don't overexert your dog. It is enough to devote no more than 5-10 minutes a day to training the team;
If the animal does something wrong, you should not break into a cry, and even more so beat him;
It will be much easier if the dog being taught to give the paw has already been taught the "sit" command;
Usually dogs are taught to give paws by using treats. Animals are cunning, therefore they can quite often approach the owner, stretching out their paw, as if saying: “I will give you a paw, and you give me a treat!”. But you should not go on about the dog, every time you go for a treat. It is enough just to praise the pet verbally.

There are several ways to teach a dog to give a paw. Consider the simplest and most effective of them:

Treat training

First you need to prepare your dog's favorite treat. What could it be? For example, a piece of jerky (not spicy or salty), an unflavored cracker, half a fresh sausage (as an exception, because such a product is harmful to dogs). The owner should hold the chosen yummy in the palm of his hand. Then you have to call the dog, saying the command "sit". When the dog takes the desired position, the owner will need to bring his hand with a delicacy closer to the nose of the animal so that it can feel the aroma of the object squeezed in the owner's palm.

As soon as the dog licks the palm of the hand with interest, the owner will need to move the hand a short distance. The dog will likely hit the hand with the treat with its paw to knock out the desired tasty piece. As soon as this happens, the owner needs to hold the dog's paw hanging with his free hand, saying clearly the command “give paw”. The exercise should be repeated several times, each time encouraging the pet with a kind word (“well done”, “clever”), as well as giving a treat. In order for the animal to become accustomed to the command, the training will have to be repeated daily until the dog learns to give the paw to the owner without a tasty piece.

Training without treats

A little more difficult is to teach a dog to give a paw without a treat. To do this, you will have to wait until the pet is maximally configured for training. First, the dog will need to be seated. Then the owner will need to carefully raise one of the paws, saying the command "give a paw." After pronouncing the command, hold the limb of the dog in your palm for a while, then lower the paw. Repeat the above actions several times, and then praise the dog.

Learning from other dogs

If the owner decides to teach a very small puppy to give a paw, the baby may simply not understand what they want from him. Sometimes it is easier to teach a pet command in the presence of an adult dog that can give a paw on command. You should just show the little dog what a big dog does when asked to give a paw. In this case, the owner will need to take the puppy's paw in his hand and raise it up, saying the command.

Teaching the command "give another paw"

As soon as the dog learns to extend its paw to the owner at the request of the owner, the time will come for the assimilation of the command “give the other paw”. To do this, first the dog is seated, the command “give a paw” is said, then, for example, the left paw is lowered, picking up the right one, saying “give the other paw”. Exercise is done several times a day. By the way, you can also teach a dog to give hind legs in the same way. To do this, the owner stands behind the dog (the dog is also standing). The owner carefully raises one of the paws, saying the command “give the hind paw”, after which he puts the paw back on the floor. When the pet gets used to stretching the hind limb, the owner will be able to accustom him to the command "give the back other paw."

When the dog learns the command, the task of giving the paw can be somewhat complicated:

Asking to give a paw to a dog in a standing or lying position;
Instead of a palm, substitute a knee or foot;
Having uttered the command, do not pull either hand or leg towards the animal. So that the dog's paw holds the canopy.

The appearance of a dog in the house is a very important event in the life of every family. A four-legged friend brings a lot of positive to the house. To reach mutual understanding with a new pet, it must be taught the basic commands: “Sit”, “Lie down”, “Stand”, “Place”, “Come to me”, “Next”.

Knowing these commands, living with a dog becomes much easier than if she did not know anything. The dog can also understand you perfectly, subject to regular training sessions, namely teaching the pet various tricks. The command "Give a paw" is the simplest element of circus training. There are several ways to teach this command.

The first method is called pushing. Many dogs already know how to follow this command, but simply do not know what it is called. Usually these are such breeds: poodle, border collie, terriers, shepherd dogs, etc. The dog may play with your paw when he needs something or just actively use his paws during games. This must be used.

Every time the pet puts its paw in your hand, we repeat the command “Give the paw” and praise the dog. This method of training is the best and most convenient, but there is only one drawback, that it is not suitable for every dog.

The second method is development of a conditioned reflex. It is very simple, does not take much time for most dog breeds. We just say the command “Give a paw” and take the forelimb of the dog in our hand, after which we will definitely praise. This must be done at least 5 times. After that, we just say “Give a paw” and stretch out our hand, if the dog does not perform the correct action, we do the exercise 5 more times and check the result again.

The downside in this case is physical contact, which is not suitable for shy dogs, and the conditioned reflex is generated automatically without any thought processes of your pet.

The third method is expectation. It is suitable for shy and non-contact dogs, the owner must extend his hand to the animal and wait for it to guess to give a paw. After performing the desired action, you need to praise the pet, later add a voice command to the action. The disadvantage of this method is that it takes a lot of time, but for a timid dog, this is the best option.

From the above, we can conclude that it is very easy to teach an animal this command. But do not rush to conclusions. There are several rules that must be observed when training, without them all training will be ineffective.

The action itself, when a dog gives a paw, means for him that she trusts you completely. If there is no trust between the owner and his pet, the dog will flatly refuse to perform this action. The authority of the owner must not only be earned, but also not lost. Usually, if a dog appears from puppyhood, then almost always the owner is an undeniable leader for her, as well as a true friend.

It will be more difficult if you are not the first owner of the pet or the animal got into your house from the street. In the second case, you need to gradually gain the trust of a newly-made family member, only with affection, praise and attention. Authority can be easily lost if the owner misbehaves. This may be in cases such as:

Excessive harshness to the dog or incorrect punishment (untimely, too strong / soft).
Unstable psyche of the owner (attacks of anger, alcoholism, etc.).
Lack of rules of behavior in the house (the dog does what he wants).
Deception (when a dog is teased with a toy / food, then they don’t give it; they call for a walk, while putting on a leash and tying it, as well as similar situations).

The next reason for the lack of training results is lack of stimulus in the animal. The dog does not understand why it needs to follow the owner's commands. Four-legged friends, by no means, are not as disinterested as writers and screenwriters make them out to be.

After each performance of the trick, the dog must be rewarded, especially if the team is under study. It can be: a treat with a treat, a toy; word or stroke. The reward must match the temperament of the animal. It is necessary to choose the right way of praise, as well as skillfully use it.

For active pets, rewarding with a toy is more suitable, while it must be given away for a while, thereby taking a short break from work.

praise food usually universal, but more suitable for less temperamental dogs. Cheese, boiled liver or tripe are used as treats, you can use sausage or sausages, but it is undesirable (they negatively affect the health of the dog).

The pieces should be small, otherwise the dog will eat up during training, and such encouragement will no longer cause a desire to work. Also, most importantly, before training, the dog must be hungry. With proper work, the dog in training just eats the standard rate of missed feeding.

For breeds such as collies, shepherds - in most cases, praise with a voice is the best incentive to work. This includes the words: “Well done”, “Good”, “Bravo”, “Good (th) boy / girl” and others. In this case, it is not the statement itself that is important, but the intonation of its pronunciation. The owner, when he praises the animal, should pronounce the praise with joy and delight, you can even wave his hands, it is necessary to achieve a cheerful mood in the dog. If you see how your dog rejoices at the words, then praise with a voice is done correctly.

The “paw-paw” command is one of the easiest tricks to teach a dog. Subject to all the rules of training, it will be easy and simple to teach your pet this team.

Many pet owners strive to quickly teach them to perform various commands. “Sit down”, “Stand up”, “Give a paw” are some of the most popular orders for a dog. How to effectively and competently master this technique? What do you need to know so that training is a pleasure, both for the animal and its owner?

How to teach a puppy to give a paw?

A suitable age for training a pet is the first six months. Some dog owners brag about their achievements and say that at the age of 1.5 months it is already possible to teach a puppy to give a paw. Here's the golden truth at work:

you can not torture and torment the animal;
exercise on an empty stomach;
it is important to catch his "good mood" so that he can actively respond to the owner's commands.

The easiest way to train a dog to properly respond to “Give me a paw” requests comes down to elementary reasoning. It is necessary to make the pet want to stretch out its paw to you. How to do it?

Squeeze his favorite treat in the palm of your hand.
Sit the dog next to him and pass a few times with a fist with a “yummy” in front of his muzzle.
As soon as the puppy begins to stretch its paws to the palm, you need to praise him, stroke his head, and then give the dog a tidbit.

Thus, the pet will begin to understand that he will be generously rewarded for the correct execution of the command. The course of training is 5-6 lessons per day. If the puppy starts to get nervous and whimper, then you need to stop the exercises until a more suitable occasion.

Effective ways to teach the “give paw” command

When your pet reacts without much enthusiasm to a treat, then you can try another method of training.

Mechanical

After giving the command “give a paw”, you need to carefully take the pet’s paw in your hand, squeeze it slightly and hold for a while, while praising and stroking the animal on the head. To avoid force majeure, you must:

take the puppy by the paw in the shoulder area, be a support for the dog so that it does not fall or get scared;
do not lift the paw up, so as not to cause pain.

After that, you need to do similar manipulations with the second foot, regularly saying the appropriate command.

During training, you need to stock up on patience and treats, you do not need to break down on the dog and raise your voice at her. Animals feel and understand everything, the puppy can completely “close” from the owner and stop performing elementary tasks.

Additional exercises

To make the training enjoyable, both the owner and the pet can come up with their own tasks. Teach a puppy to give a paw in a sitting, standing, lying position. It is allowed to use not only the palm as a support, but also to substitute the foot or knee.

Also try not to substitute any support for the pet, let him learn to keep his paw in the air for a while. Such an exercise will help the dog develop willpower, patience and resourcefulness. When the dog learns to give a paw, it will be much easier for the owner to cut her nails, wash the dirt or pull out a splinter.

Training should begin at 4 months of age. Dog owners can argue that it is possible to teach a dog to follow simple commands earlier. Yes it is. But the puppy will very quickly forget what he has been taught, because at the age of 4-5 months the brain center is not yet responsible for storing information at the level of perception.
By the beginning of training, the dog should already know the minimum commands, for example, “sit” or “down”. So it will be easier for the owner of the animal to conduct the lesson and teach the following basics.
Three hours before the start of training, the dog needs to be fed, walked, adjusted to positive emotions, scratched behind the ear, etc.
If there is no desire, both for the pet and the owner, to conduct training, the lesson should be stopped or not started at all, so as not to avoid unpleasant consequences.

After the first worked command “give a paw”, you can safely move on to the next one: “give a second paw”. This must be done in an approximate way: first ask for one paw, then, after completing the required, the second. Take the animal by both paws and hold, then release and repeat the procedure.

Some dodgers manage to teach the pet to still perform the command “Give the left paw”, “right”, “hind”, but this is already aerobatics, requiring skill, patience, dexterity of the animal and altered master training skills.

Where is the best place to take classes?

The most comfortable thing is at home, no one distracts you, peace and quiet. The pet should not be distracted by other silhouettes and commands. The task of the trainer is to teach the dog to focus on one action.

If it is difficult to find a quiet corner at home, then it is better to go to a park or forest, choose a place where there is no one and start the lesson. In the open air, you will “breathe” better, and the puppy will be able to enjoy the warm weather.

During training, it is forbidden to scold animals, raise your voice, or worse, be. The lesson should not tire your pet, you need to take breaks every 30 minutes, pamper the puppy, treat it with your favorite treat.

After training, it is necessary at home, at every convenient opportunity, to pronounce the command “give a paw” and monitor the behavior of the puppy. If the training has "been fruitful", then you can move on to more complex tasks: give paws alternately, increasing the speed of pronunciation of the task.

Conclusion

Here are some simple and effective methods for teaching your pet basic commands. In a week or two, your animals will be happy to do such manipulations, pleasing the eyes of their owners.

Take care of your four-legged friends and regularly treat them to your favorite treats! Thanks to the ability to execute the “give paw” command, your puppy will be able to easily give you paws to use the toilet after everyday walks, and, possibly, wave at a meeting! Keep it up, you will succeed!