Your Guide to Boston Terriers!

Teach Your Boston Terrier to Roll Over

by Colleen Fernandez

Make sure your Boston Terrier has basic training down before proceeding. Traditionally, the way one would go about teaching their dog to roll over would be to in 2 Steps. Many people try, unsuccessfully, to first teach the dog “down” and then physically roll them over or lure them with a treat. However, this approach doesn’t work too well with most dogs. If you teach “roll over” in 4 small steps, your dog will be able to learn better and will feel more in control of her body. Teaching “roll over” with this approach should take your dog about a week to learn if you practice for about 5 minutes twice a day.

4 Steps to “Roll Over”

Step 1 – “Down” First have your dog “sit” and then have her “lay down.” Remember to reward her for getting this step correct. Step 2 – “Play Dead” Teach your dog “play dead.” Say “play dead”, hold the treat to the left or right of the dog, and gently shove on the opposite shoulder and urge the dog to roll onto his or her side and relax. Treat immediately and scratch the shoulder. When your dog “plays dead” well, move on to step 3. Step 3- “Belly Up” From the play dead position, have your dog roll over onto their back. You can give her belly rubs at first for rolling on her back; however you should slowly phase out the belly rubs and substitute a treat instead. Step 4- “Roll Over” The objective here is to get the dog to roll upright on the opposite side he rolled from. This happens naturally for a lot of dogs. But if your dog doesn’t get it right away don’t worry, you can help her! Just hold a treat in front of her face and move it to the side you want her to roll up on. Say “Roll Over” while she does this. Make sure you stick to the sequence: Down, Play Dead, Belly Up, and Roll Over for a few weeks. With practice comes perfection, and eventually you should be able to get your Boston Baby to “roll over” from any position at all! Watch this Boston Terrier perform several tricks, including “Roll Over.”