Thursday, September 13, 2012

How to train the dog to roll over

By Jerry Welsh


Rolling over is one of the fun tricks an owner can teach the pet. A Maltese, a Shih Tzu and other toy breeds that can roll over would be entertaining sights but consider if you were able to teach a Great Dane or any other large breeds to do the trick.

Dogs are pack animals thus they would need to have a well defined hierarchy. Dogs may want to be the pack leader but if it is not possible these animals would want to gain the good favors of the alpha male. Because of the dog's innate eagerness to please attitude, training would be easy. Many training methods are hyped to make the dog learn quickly but due to individual differences, a method that is effective for one dog may not work for another.

A pet owner has to have two or more techniques ready. Some dogs are food motivated; others would prefer the praise and attention showered by the master. To make training easier, a dog owner has to have an idea on the preferences of the pet.

The roll over trick can be learned easily if the pet was trained to lay down beforehand. If the dog is food motivated, using treats as rewards would make the training easier. After the dog has obeyed the down command, get the dog's attention by showing the treat in your hand. Bring the hand holding the treat to the dog's nose so that the treat can be smelled and slowly move the hand to the side and over the dog's body. Because the dog would want to have the treat, it will follow the hand and in doing so would roll over. Once the dog is seen rolling over, the command must be given and afterwards the treat must be given. The dog may stand up to get the treat but you can stop the movement by bringing the hand holding the treat down over the dog's lying body.

Repeat the training session whenever possible. The attention span of dogs are short thus you have to make the training enjoyable to hold the interest of the dog. Teaching a dog to roll over and to do other tricks is not for an owner with no patience as teaching a dog would not be an easy task. Dog owners have to exert effort to make dogs understand as dogs cannot read people's minds.




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