Trent DeLucia: Teaching Your Dog Tricks 3

I decided to let my family choose the topic for my final blog post.  They all simultaneously agreed that "shaking hands" would be the most amusing.  I didn't want to let them down so of course I took on the challenge.  Luckily there was an entire section from the book Do As I Do, by Claudia Fugazza, dedicated to this trick in particular:

"I advise teaching your dog how to sit before shaking hands.  This will make the process of shaking a lot easier and smoother.  Once your dog to knows how to sit, you are ready to train (Fugazza 51)."
Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 51. Print.

This trick was a lot easier than I first suspected because half of it is teaching your dog how to sit (which I previously taught Bear).  The reason for this is because for dogs to "shake hands" they can't be on all four's.  I can now move on to the procedures listed for this trick:

"Shake:

1. Tell your dog to sit
2. Show them the treat that they will receive after they are sitting (so they don't think you're rewarding them to sit)
3. Grab one of their paws (Note: you must grab the same one each attempt)
4. Tell him/her 'shake'
5. Shake their paw up and down 3-4 times
6. Reward with treat

You'll know your dog has learned the trick when they offer their paw when they hear the word 'shake' (Fugazza 51)."
Fugazza, Claudia. "Imitation." Do as I Do: Using Social Learning to Train Dogs. Wenatchee: Dogwise, 2014. 51. Print.

Bear successfully completed this trick (without me having to shake his paw for him) after only three attempts!  I was very surprised yet pleased by this result.  I would have never suspected that the most entertaining trick would be the easiest to teach.  This is proof that the more Bear is taught, the easier it is for him to learn.  Is it common for dogs to learn faster with the more training they receive?