Summary
Teaching your dog to “roll over” enhances flexibility and strengthens your bond. Start in a quiet space, commanding your dog to lie down. Lure them with a treat, moving it in an arc over their head to encourage rolling. Reward immediately upon completion. Gradually phase out treats, using just the verbal cue “roll over” and a hand motion. Practice in various settings. If your dog hesitates, break down the steps. Ensure your dog is physically comfortable and consult a vet if they have any physical limitations. Keep training sessions short and fun for effective learning.
How do you teach a dog to roll over?
While you do not have to be a professional dog trainer, you have to be patient while teaching your pet the trick of rolling over.
The rollover trick you teach your pets can be helpful and cute. It can be good since it allows you to check for issues related to its tummies, like ticks or mats, and is a fun trick for your dog to show off. Unfortunately, hound breeds have difficulty rolling due to their prominent spine. To begin with, your pet should be able to do a few basic commands like ‘down’ and, with a few more easy steps added to the training, it will be rolling out to your amazement.
To start, you will need a quiet place, a few training treats for your dog, a clicker tool(optional), a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes daily, lots of patience, and passion.
Follow these steps to teach your dog to roll over:
Step 1: Start in an ideal environment
It is best to choose a quiet area with no distractions. It will help your pet focus on the training. An indoor location with plenty of floor space for your pet to roll freely will be an ideal choice. Choosing a soft floor would help as your dog will spend lots of time moving. Once it learns the trick in a place, it can do it anywhere outside.
Step 2: Ask your pet to lie down
Command your dog to lie down. Once it is lying with its belly facing the ground, paws resting in the front, and head facing up, you can start teaching it to roll over.
When your pet is lying down with its left leg out, you will know it is ready to roll over to the right side. You can decide the direction it is leaning to know which way your dog will roll over.
Trying to roll it in the other direction will make it difficult for your dog.
Step 3: Offer your dog a treat
It would help if you lured your pet to a position by offering a treat. Hold the treat before your dog’s nose to smell and see it. Hold the treat firmly in your hands so your dog does not get away with it.
You can either buy small treats and keep them till the end of the session or break the bigger treats into small pieces. Your pets can be motivated to train by giving good treats.
Step 4: Moving the treat
Keep the treat in your hand near your pet’s nose and move it in the direction you want it to roll over. Your dog should turn its head in the direction of the treat. Keep moving the treat so your pet follows the directions and physically moves accordingly to reach for the treat.
Step 5: Reward your pet for rolling over
Once your dog completes a full rollover, you can treat it immediately. If you are using a clicker, click it before the treat is given. The reward should be given immediately once a rollover is complete so that your pet knows what it is doing is right. Then, make it repeat the movements by offering more treats.
Step 6: Keep Practicing without treats
Repeat the procedure without using rewards once your dog starts to roll over for treats. You have to pretend to hold a treat and move with your hand. Reward your pet once a rollover is complete, and continue with the practice until it performs the trick without rewards. If you have a stubborn dog, it might need lots of practice to roll.
Step 7: Start using the rollover command
Once your pet gets accustomed to rolling over with treats and your hand actions, it is time to introduce the rollover command. It is to make your dog link the command with the trick. Hold the treat in your hand and, in a clear and loud tone, say ‘roll over’ before you move the treat around its head. You can use the rollover hand movement initially to make it comfortable. Keep practicing until your pet performs the trick only on verbal cues without your physical actions.
Step 8: More Practice
Once the rollover trick has been mastered, you must keep practicing with a treat outdoors. It may be difficult for your pet to roll over outdoors due to several distractions like other people and animals, making it hard to concentrate. Therefore, you must start practicing outdoors slowly until your pet copes with the external factors. You can ask someone else to give the command to check if your dog has mastered the art of rolling over.
Long training sessions may be taxing on you and your dogs, so do not practice for a very long time as it may reduce your pet’s productivity and enthusiasm.
Troubleshooting for hesitant dogs
While teaching your pet the rollover trick, there are many times when it would need to act appropriately due to its inattentiveness or inability to understand the actions correctly. For example, if it keeps on lifting its bottom as you try to pull it into a stretch, you will need to break down the steps further:
- You have to lower your hand, palm facing down and holding a treat, halfway down the “elevator” to the floor.
- When your pet tries to follow the treat, you need to mark this movement with a verbal ‘Yes’ or a clicker and drop the treat. Repeat this process at least five times.
- Next, lower your hand again, palm facing downwards with the treat going towards the floor. When your dog bends for the treat, release it and repeat it five times.
- You can now try to get your pet to stretch its legs. Lower your hand while holding the treat and start pulling it towards yourself. If your dog stretches at this instant, reward it; repeat this procedure five times.
- Continue pulling the reward towards yourself so the dog can lie down entirely into the whole position. Reward once it gets to the proper position.
What are the things to follow before teaching your dog to roll over?
While teaching your pets the rollover trick, you will have time to bond with them. Since you spend time with your dog for exercise, it helps your pet remain active and energetic. However, there are a few things you need to follow if you are to teach your pet the new trick:
- Check with the Vet – You must ensure your pet is approved for a rollover. If your dog is suffering from physical ailments of a spinal, muscular, or skeletal nature or other issues, you should skip this trick and teach it something else.
- Training in a Smooth and Clean Place – Avoid messy and crowded places for rollover training. It would help if you did not teach your dog to roll over in a small place like your bed or couch, as it may fall and get hurt. The floor you choose has to be smooth and clean so that they perform the activity without any hindrance.
- Do not force the dog to perform if it is uncomfortable. As an owner, you must understand your pet’s needs and comfort quotient. Teach your dog this trick only if it is physically comfortable. If your pet is comfortable with the rollover inside the house, stick indoors and avoid strange places.
Reasons why your dog would not roll over
Your dog may not know to roll over as it is being stubborn, dominant, anxious, or bringing negativity to the otherwise fun activity. A few other factors, like being deaf and dumb and lack of motivation, are some causes. Reasons for your pet not rolling over are listed below:
Being threatened
Your dog might roll onto its back when it is being submissive because exposing its bellies makes it vulnerable. However, your pet may avoid going on its back when uncomfortable before other dogs or strangers.
Old Age / Senior Dog
Old age is another reason your pet cannot. As your pet grows old, it has less energy and needs to get more mindful.
Any physical injury will make your pet abstain from rolling over. This is because rolling over requires your pet to use its whole body, and any injury makes it uncomfortable for your dog.
Canine Cognitive Dysfunction – Aging of a dog’s brain
It is known as Dementia in dogs. It is compared to Alzheimer’s disease in people. The most common symptoms of CCD are changes in the activity cycle and interaction with family members, changes in sleep patterns, and disorientation.
No Motivation
Trained dogs always look out for treats once they perform a trick. If your pet is not rolling over, it might also look for a treat. However, there are cases where your pet will not perform the trick despite getting treats. The only reason is that the given treatment is not motivating enough.
Physically uncomfortable
Your dog might not roll over as it is uncomfortable to roll due to hard surfaces. In addition, there may be instances where they would prefer to perform this trick after unknown people or other animals. Inflammation, Arthritis, or hip DysplasiaTeaching rollover commands to your dog
There may be a few conditions where your dog may not roll over.
Most dogs are open to learning new tricks, some of which are harder than others, but with patience and time, you will have your pet dog listening to your instructions in no time. Training and obedience are the best ways to relax and rejuvenate your dog’s brain.
