Train Your Dog to Spin in 2 Easy Steps

Anyone can train their dog or puppy to spin. It’s a great skill to teach any dog of any age or obedience level. The easiest way to train it is through food luring. Ezra and I learned it on our path to getting our AKC Dog Trick Novice Title. And if big, goofy Ezra can do it, so can you.

All it takes it just two steps.

What is the spin command?

The spin command is teaching your dog to turn completely around in a circle on command. Usually, your dog is comfortable turning in the exact same direction, and that is the spin. If you want them to turn in a different direction, you can train following these exact same steps. But you should use a different command word. Most commonly, the command is twist.

Why should I train my dog to spin?

No one is forced to train their dog to spin. It’s not a command that you need in daily life. But a lot of people do want to train their dogs to spin because:

• Obtain their AKC Novice Dog Trick Title
• Learn party tricks to show-off with friends

2 No-Brainer Steps to Train Your Dog to Spin

Before you train for spin, you should ensure your dog is conditioned to a marker. Once you finish conditioning for your selected marker, teaching to spin will be far easier. This section will use the word “yes” as a marker.

Beyond that, you only need a treat in order to train your dog to spin.

Step 1: Position your dog, put a treat in front of his nose

• I like to position the dog to stand in front of me, but you can also stand the dog next to you.
• Then take get the dog to focus on you.
• Get ready to food lure! Grab a treat and position it in front of his nose.
  • If you want the dog to turn to your right, you should use your right hand for the food lure.
  • If you want the dog to turn to your left, use your left hand for the lure.

Step 2: Begin to turn his head towards his hind legs

• Being guiding your hand so that his head follows the treat and he starts to look behind him.
• The best way to think about how to do this is to:
  • Make your dog to look over his shoulder, or
  • Move your hand so that you are placing the treat above his hind leg.
• If you can’t make it all the way to your dog’s hind leg before he falls out of position, that’s OK! Here’s what you do:
  • Break the spin into much smaller behaviors. When your dog completes part of it, mark it with a “yes! Good boy!” and feed the treat. Then try again.
  • Each time, try to make it a little bit farther and farther.
• If you make it all the way around for a complete spin, that’s great!
  • Mark with a “yes! Good boy!” and feed the treat. Then try again.
• Keep practicing until he regularly does a full spin without requiring a lure. Then add in the command “spin.”

Conclusion

If you know how to food lure and you have conditioned your dog to a marker, teaching your dog to spin is a piece of cake. All you have to do is position the dog standing in front of you or beside you. Then lure your dog with a treat to turn towards his hind legs. Mark the smaller behaviors along the way if he can’t make it all the way around. Then work towards a complete spin. And that is it!

How long did it take you to teach your dog to spin? Comment and let me know!