I have been trying for ages to get Blazer to “give paw” or shake hands. He always stays in the hallway until I come down in the morning, and I will sit on the step below him, grasp his right front paw and repeat “give paw” while I lift his foot and hold it for a few seconds. We do this five or six times. After a few weeks – months? – of this, he is no further along than he was when we started, so I decided this morning to try it with treats.
He was sitting beside me while I ate breakfast, so I got down on the floor with a bit of egg, grasped his right forefoot and said “give paw”. He immediately flopped down on his side and rolled over for me to rub his tummy.
Somehow, I don’t this this is a battle I’m going to win.
thisendoftheswamp 
You have to actually give him the treat when you take his paw…then he will associate the word, the treat and the handshake. 🙂