How to Teach a Dog to Roll Over

If you want to teach your dog to roll over, you've probably already mastered some of the more basic commands, such as, "stay," "down" and "sit." Moving on to more complicated tricks gives you a chance to spend more time with your dog and it's very useful when you want to show off your dog to your friends. So, what's the best way to teach your dog to roll over?

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Make sure your dog has mastered the "down" or "lie down" and "stay" commands first.

2. Get your dog into the down position and tell him to stay.

3. Pick up a treat and position your hand so that it's at a height that is above his head and off to the side of his shoulder.

4. Tell your dog to "roll over" while you move your hand up and over his shoulder. The treat should be leading him into the roll over motion. You will probably need to move your hand very slowly at first.

5. Use your other hand to gently hold down his back if he keeps trying to get up from the down position to grab the treat from your hand.

6. Praise your dog a lot when he completes the trick correctly. Tell him "good roll over" in a happy, excited voice and give him the treat. Don't offer any praise or attention if he doesn't roll over.

7. Be patient. Training a dog to roll over takes a lot of time and effort. If he's having a bad training session, just stop and try again tomorrow. Eventually, he will begin to understand what you want him to do.

Resources

• Loveyourdog.com has even more information about training your dog
• You can find all kinds of dog-related resources at petplace.com

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