How to Train a Dog to Roll Over

Today I’ve decided to write about some dog tricks so get ready to learn how to train a dog to roll over. It’s a really cute trick! If you haven’t already done so you should read my post on how to train a dog to sit and how to train a dog to lay down. This will really help you when trying this trick. While some dogs can learn this trick all in one time most dogs will need to learn it in stages. Personally I would rate this roll over trick as an easy to moderately difficult to learn.

How to tell if your dog is ready to learn how to roll over

Before you learn how to train a dog to roll over you need to see if your dog is ready. If your dog has mastered the sit and lay down command then they are probably ready to learn this dog trick. In my opinion these commands should be taught to all dogs while the roll over trick is not necessary but fun.

How to Train a Dog to Roll Over

The first step to teach your dog to roll over is to get her to lay down. Once your dog is in the lay down position you should put her on her side by pushing her at the shoulders while also luring her with a treat. As soon as your dog is on her side, you should give her the treat and lots of praise. This is positive reinforcement at its best. Repeat this until you see that your dog is getting it. Don’t worry if it takes a bit. My Boxer took a few sessions to learn this. You can use any verbal command you like to associate lying down. Some people will use “bang bang”. The reason for this is because this is actually the “play dead” trick. For example, you say bang bank to your dog and he lays down on his side… very cute.

The next step to learning how to train a dog to roll over is rather simple. You need to train your dog to lay on her back. You can do this using the same methods described above. While your dog is on her side you can push her on her back and also use a treat. Again you can use any command you want for this.

Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for… drum roll please … teaching your dog the roll over command. Once you can get your dog to consistently go on her back you can use the treat to lure the dog to whichever side you want. This step is probably the easiest one for your dog to learn. By simply moving the treat to one side your dog should naturally roll over. You will wan to use a verbal command and in this case I usually use the obvious one (Roll Over).

Remember that these are 3 separate commands that you are teaching your dog. On do get her on her side, the second on the back and the third on it legs. By practicing this trick a few times you should eventually be able to just use the roll over command on its own. In reality you’ve taught your dog a few other cool tricks such as play dead.

I think this post was probably one of the shortest post I’ve written in a while (lucky you). Do the steps described above and you will learn how to train a dog to roll over in no time.

Berto