At first, "shake" seemed to mean "stand up and scoot back cause mommy's gonna grab your paw," just like you. But we just kept at it. I don't know what actually made him quit standing up when I went for his paw, but there's two things I can think of that might have played a part (other than just repetition). First, he was getting better and better at just plain sit, and gradually getting to do it easily without a treat around that time. Second, I'd started working with him letting me touch his paws and play with the pads of his feet - I know this is important for nail-clipping, grooming, and if he ever needs me to look at a foot because it hurts.
When he started not standing up as often, we took it in steps... first, we rewarded when we grabbed his paw and he didn't stand. Then we gave him the option of putting his paw up when we said shake, and if he did we grabbed it and gave him a treat. If he didn't, we grabbed his paw for him, and just verbally praised him, then gave him a second chance to raise his paw for a second shake immediately after the first. If the second try didn't work, we grabbed it for him and treated him for it. Very quickly, he learned to raise his paw for the shake.
I don't know if that's the right way to do it at all, but it worked for us. I hope that might help a little! Good luck :-)
Lauren & Nikko |