Getting your dog to roll over will take some time as some dogs will have a bit of difficulty in learning to ‘roll over’. The key is to split up this trick into 4-5 steps and once your dog is well versed in all the 4 steps, all you would have to do is to put the show together. Here is a list of easy steps, compiled from the secrets of a professional dog trainer, which should help you get off to a flying start.

1. The ‘down’ mode – The first thing you would need to do is to get your dog to comprehend the command ‘down’. The best way to do this is to push your dog too gently, by using his collar so that he lies on the floor. Every dog would do its best to get up right away so make sure that you keep the pressure on your dog’s collar as a way of reassuring him to lie on the floor. When he manages to lie still for a short duration, reward him with a doggy treat. Repeat the step but try to verbalize the ‘lying down’ with the command ‘down’. Soon, your dog would learn to associate the action with the word, now you are ‘set’ for step 1 of the ‘roll over’ movement.

2. The ‘play dead’ saga – This step is a neat trick to teach your dog, but getting there is going to take some patience on your part. Remember step 1, now you are going to get your dog to graduate to step 2, by learning to play dead. So from the ‘down’ position, gently push on one side of your dog so that he leans completely onto the floor. Keep your hand pressed against his side so that he learns to lie in this position for a while. Once he does that, reward him right away. Keep repeating this step and in time, verbalize it with the command ‘play dead’. The neat part about this particular step is that it can be used as a stand alone trick, all on its own.

3. The ‘belly dance’: Now that you have been able to train your dog to play dead, it is time to move on the third step, the belly rub. You can start by rubbing your dog’s belly. All dogs love to get their belly rubbed and the minute you start rubbing his belly, he will roll onto his back and lift his legs up to give you a much better access to his belly. This step is not difficult to teach your dog as it comes natural to them. Start to verbalize the command ‘back’ or ‘splay’ every time your dog rolls onto his back. Remember to treat him with doggy treats each correct time and within a short duration, he should roll over on the command ‘back’ with no hesitation whatsoever.

4. The ‘roll over’ movement- Now that your dog is well versed in all the steps, the only thing that is left to do is to teach your dog to roll over completely. As soon as your dog gets on his back for the belly rub, hold a treat close to his nose to get him to roll over completely. Once he does that, offer him the treat. Repeat this step again and again, in time verbalize the command ‘roll over’ with this action and now, your dog should be able to get from step 1 to step 4 with no problems whatsoever.

All that is left for you to do is to get your dog to perform the steps 1-4 in tandem and soon he would be able to understand what a ‘roll over’ command is all about. With these steps compiled from the secrets of a professional dog trainer, you should be able to get your dog to ‘roll over’ with ease.