How to teach your dog the ‘Spin’ command
23 March 2022Dog Training
Who doesn't love to twirl and spin? It’s such a fun and freeing movement and is quite a simple and impressive move to teach your dog.
Here to take us through a step-by-step guide to teaching your dog how to spin is Diane, our Canine Behaviourist and owner of Superhounds.
“Spin is a great trick that you can use on its own or added into your loose lead walking to make things a bit more exciting. It not only keeps your dog’s focus, but it also teaches body awareness and proprioception. It can be beneficial to dogs of all ages, from puppies through to elderly dogs.”
The ultimate goal of spin is to have your dog completing 360° spins in either direction on a verbal command. Watch the video and follow the steps below.
Step 1:
With your dog standing in front of you, present a tasty treat (like these ones from our Different Dog Shop) and display in front of your dog’s nose.
Step 2:
Take the treat towards your dog’s right shoulder as they move their head in a clockwise direction, mark, and reward.
Step 3:
Remember to keep the treat at shoulder height – too high and your dog will sit or jump up, too low and your dog may lie down or not follow the treat.
Step 4:
Once your pup is following the food, bring your hand around to your dog’s rear end to encourage a full turn of their body.
Step 5:
Now you’ve got the spin behaviour, you can do a few more and reward the tight spins.
Step 6:
You can now start to phase out the lure (the treat in your hand). Continue to make the same action with your hand but mark and reward once your dog has completed a full spin.
Step 7:
When you are confident that your dog knows what the action is, you can start putting the word to it by saying ‘Spin’ as they turn.
Step 8:
Once you have mastered this you can start to reduce the hand signal until your dog is spinning just on the verbal cue.
Step 9:
You can now do the same with the ‘Twist’ action – a 360° in an anti-clockwise direction!
Ready to learn another trick? Watch Diane teach ‘play bow’ here.
Diane, our canine behaviourist has been training dogs since 2009 and uses positive reinforcement training methods and motivational techniques such as toys, markers and food to get the best results for you and your dog. To find out more about Diane and Superhounds, visit https://superhounds.co.uk/ .
