How to Train Your Dog to Shake His Body

There is nothing like a good rainstorm to wash away the dirt and grime, leaving behind a fresh new world filled with beauty. Sounds good so far, doesn't it? At least, that is, until you have to take your dog out in the rain to do his business. To make matters worse, it's really not the taking him outside that's a problem. No, it's that massive shake off he does the moment he gets inside. This despite your best efforts to convince him to do this outside, where all that water won't bother anyone.

A dog can shake up to 70% of the water in his coat off, leaving him much drier. However, if you are like most pet owners, you really don't want this 70% spread all over every room in your house. The good news is that with a little hard work and training, you can't teach your pup to shake his body on command. 

No one wants to deal with having their wet dog shaking himself off all over them and the rest of the house. So, this leaves you with a few choices: you can train your pup to shake himself off on command, use a towel to dry him off the moment you set foot in the door, or you can keep living with the status quo. Remember, this is a perfectly normal behavior as no dog wants to walk around soaking wet.

The goal is to reinforce this natural behavior while at the same time teaching him to shake off outside on command rather than bringing all that water in the house. There are various methods you can use to train this behavior, all of those listed below have been found to be quite effective. The most important part of any training program is perseverance. Oh, and plenty of your pup's favorite treats. 

You can teach this "trick" to virtually any age dog as long as they have first mastered the four basic commands of 'sit', 'stay', 'come', and 'down'. Teaching your pup these commands first not only allows you to control your pup more effectively, but it also establishes you as the pack leader. This is an important step if you want your pup to always listen to you. For this training you may need:

• Treats:  As rewards and incentives.
  
• Leash: For walks in the rain.
  
• Tub: Or a pool or shower for bathing your pup.
  

The rest is all about having the time to work with your pup and the patience to keep working with him until he masters this very important skill. Once training is complete, your pup should be able to stand outside and shake off the water on command, leaving you--and the inside of your home--much drier.