How to train a dog to roll over

So you have already trained your pet to follow your come, sit, stay, heel and lay down commands, you can now teach your dog some cool tricks. Teaching the dog to roll over will be a good bonding time for you and your pet. Aside from building the confidence of the dog you will also have a pet that you can be proud of. 

Arm yourself with an ample supply of the dog’s favorite treat or a toy to be used to lure the dog to respond to the obedience training. You also have to select a location that has few distractions. Remember, you are going to make your dog roll over so a comfortable place is a must. The grasses in the yard would do well. If this is not possible, a carpeted room or one that has a padded mat is a good alternative.

To get the dog to the desired mind set you can play with the dog for a while and lavish the dog with verbal praises. Because dogs are easily distracted you have to get the dog focused before starting the training. Call the dog’s name and maintain eye contact. You can talk to the dog in an upbeat voice or clap your hand to hold his attention.

Stand in front of your dog and give the sit command. Once it is sitting, you can hold the treat in your hand at the nose level of the dog and then give the lay down command. The objective is for the dog to follow your hand holding the treats.

The dog should lie down with one side of the body touching the ground. But if the dog has its belly flat to the ground you need to gently push the dog onto the left or the right side. Which ever shoulder is down will be the direction of your hand.

Move the hand holding the treat to the side of the dog’s nose to the back. Give the roll over command. The dog, following the smell of the treat will roll over until it has made a 180 degrees roll over. Praise the dog and give the treat as a reward as soon as it has followed your command. The reward, the petting and the praises has to be associated by the dog to rolling over.

Repeat the training sessions regularly. As the dog masters rolling over, you can gradually do away with the food treats. You can also substitute the verbal commands with hand signals. Wouldn’t it be more entertaining if you can make your dog roll over simply by the clockwise movement of your hand?