Whether you’ve got an adorable Golden Retriever puppy, or you have an older German Shepherd dog with a playful spirit, teaching your dog to roll over is a super simple trick that will be a fun bonding activity for you and your dog to do together!
Prior to teaching your dog how to roll over, we recommend that you have first taken the time to teach your dog how to sit and lie down on command, otherwise you might find that your little four-legged pup struggles to be able to learn this trick, especially if they’re a younger dog.
Nevertheless, even though the rollover trick is a little bit more complicated than some of the other tricks that you could teach your dog, with a little bit of patience you’ll find that your dog is rolling over on command before you know it.
Not only that, but to make things even easier, below, we’re going to be breaking down the steps needed to successfully do it, as well as some additional hints and tips along the way to make it an enjoyable experience for both you and your dog.
Let’s jump in!
Teaching Your Dog To Roll Over: Step-by-Step Instructions:
First things first, before you begin, you’re going to need to make sure that you have some treats at hand!
Any old treat will do, but if you’d like a recommendation to help get the best results, then we recommend checking out the Brand Wagg Training Treats.
They come in a variety of different flavors that will keep your dog engaged and wanting more, such as chicken, banana, and even yummy peanut butter.
In addition to making sure that you have plenty of treats to give your dog while you help them to learn the trick, we also recommend that you use your clicker if you do clicker training with your pup.
If click training is something that you’d like to get into, then EYEFLY do some of the best and most affordable clickers in the industry. Their Dog Training Clicker Set is a bestseller, and comes with two clickers that will come in handy if you happen to accidentally misplace one.
Plus, besides making sure that you have all of your training essentials at hand, you should also make sure that your dog is relaxed and calm, and that you’re in an environment in which your dog feels comfortable.
Many dog owners like to teach their dogs tricks in the comfort of their own home, although you could also consider taking your dog to your local park or playing field to teach them there, too.
Whichever you choose, though, make sure that you’re following the steps below when you’re ready to begin teaching the rollover trick to your pooch:
- First up, we recommend asking your dog to go into the “lie down” command. By doing this, you will be helping your dog to understand that it’s time to listen to you and follow some commands. In addition to that, you’ll also be making the roll-over command even easier for your dog to complete.
- When you’re ready, take a treat out of your pouch and place it right in front of its nose, and then gradually move the treat away from its nose and towards its shoulder. This will cause your dog to follow the direction of the treat.
- Making sure that your dog doesn’t accidentally steal the treat out of your hand, as soon as you notice that your dog has moved its head, you should then proceed to pull the treat right around your dog’s shoulder, so that it will need to move into a lie-down position in order to follow its direction.
- Then, ensuring that you are continuing to hold the treat as close as you can to your dog’s nose, pull the treat slowly yet swiftly away from your dog’s nose and all the way around, so that your dog will need to roll all the way over in order to follow it.
- If, after doing this, you find that your dog completes the roll perfectly, you should then reward your dog by giving it plenty of praise and the treat. In addition to this, if you are training with a clicker, then you should click your clicker after your dog has completed the command, as this will help your dog to understand that it has done something good.
- After your dog has completed the command successfully once, you should then take the time to repeat the command a few more times, making sure to say the words “rollover” to let your dog understand what it is, otherwise, you’re only going to find that your dog is unable to repeat the command when you ask it to.
Teaching Your Dog To Roll Over Additional Tips
Regardless of whether you are training a puppy or adult dog, you’re probably going to find that for the first few goes your dog struggles to complete the rollover correctly.
Instead, it’s more likely that as soon as you pull the treat over its body, you notice that your dog wiggles and jumps up to try and catch the treat out of your hands, rather than rolling over and following the treat with its eyes.
This is to be expected and totally normal for your dog to do, so don’t become discouraged if you’re noticing that this is something that your dog is doing, especially during the early stages of training the trick.
Additionally, if you are finding that this is the case, then we recommend that you try to break down the training to make it a little easier for your dog to understand.
So, instead of saving the treat until after your dog has correctly performed the trick in full, we recommend rewarding your dog at different stages, including when your dog lies down when your dog turns its head, and when your dog rolls onto its side.