Unroll It: Super Cute & Useful Dog Trick

I will always recommend training your dog to do more things. In my opinion, it helps develop a deeper bond with your dog, increases your ability to communicate, stimulates your dog’s brain, and helps tire him out. One cool trick I learned recently was to unroll a blanket.

I loved training Ezra this trick, because it was pretty simple to set up and teach. Training your dog to unroll a blanket, towel, or your yoga mat is great because then you can include your dog in your daily chores or exercise routine. I think that’s pretty cool, and I think your dog will appreciate feeling more involved in your life as well.

What is the Unroll It command?

The unroll it command is when your dog unrolls something with their nose until it’s flat on the ground. You can train your dog to unroll towels, blankets, yoga mats, or other items that you store rolled up.

It is not a command that you HAVE to train your dog. But it’s fun! It’s fun to include your dog in random chores, and your dog will appreciate having a job to do. For example, if you just got in from a walk in the rain, you can train your dog to unroll the towel for you so you can dry him off. It’s not necessary, but sometimes it’s just cool.

3 Steps to Train Unroll It

In order to train this trick, you need treats and something for your dog to unroll. I used a towel that only is used on Ezra to dry him off to train this, so I will reference a towel throughout this tutorial. Feel free to use anything else you want because the steps are the same, regardless of what you select. Other people may use blankets or yoga mats.

Step 1: Grab a towel and a favorite treat.

I chose to convert meal time to a training session and used Ezra’s kibble to train this. I took a towel and folded it in half length-wise so it was a little chunkier once rolled up. Then I placed some kibble every couple inches across the length of the towel. I placed it in the center so that the Ezra would be encouraged to nose down the middle instead of chomp on the sides.

In the beginning, I was very generous with the amount of kibble on the towel. I put a jackpot at the end of the towel so that he would get a lot of kibble once he completely unrolled the towel. Finally I rolled it up, starting at the jackpot. This ensured that the jackpot is the last thing your dog will eat after he completes the behavior.

Step 2: Put it directly in front of your dog and wait.

Set your dog up for success by placing it so that he just has to nose it as he walks forward to easily unroll it. Usually this means leaving a couple inches already unrolled and facing the dog. You don’t want to ask him to rearrange himself or the towel before he begins unrolling because he won’t get.

In the beginning, your dog may only sniff at it. That’s OK! Praise him. Give him some time to figure out what he’s supposed to do. Once he starts to nudge the towel forward, praise him some more and keep praising until he’s unrolled the whole towel. When he gets to the jackpot, praise a little extra.

If at any point he starts chomping on the ends or picks it up, discourage him with a gentle “No,” and reposition the towel on the floor. Don’t roll it back up. Let him continue where he left off.

Step 3: Practice over and over, then add the verbal cue.

Repeat steps 1-2 a few times until your dog begins to get the hang of it. When your dog is unrolling the towel with his nose to completion, start adding the verbal cue. I use “unroll it” but you can use whatever you want. Then practice a few more times using the cue.

At this point, begin to fade the lure by putting the kibble farther apart on the towel so he has to unroll more of the towel in order to get rewarded. You can do this a couple ways:

1. Instead of putting kibble every couple inches, put it every 5-6 inches.
2. Instead of putting kibble every couple inches across the full length of towel, put it every couple inches for the first half he’ll unroll. Then for the second half, put it every 5-6 inches.

I tried doing it both ways and had more success in the beginning with the second approach. I’ve always kept the jackpot, because I found that without it Ezra didn’t unroll the towel completely. Over time, you’ll be able to just have kibble halfway down the towel, and then at the jackpot. Then just the jackpot, and then nothing!

Conclusion

I love this trick because it’s pretty easy to teach your dog. It doesn’t require any fancy techniques or technical skills. It doesn’t require any special props or treats. All it requires is a hungry dog, some kibble, and a towel. All you have to do is:

• Place kibble every couple inches in the center of the towel down the length.
• Put a jackpot with a lot of kibble at the very end. Begin rolling at the jackpot so that it’s the last thing your dog will eat.
• Place the rolled up towel in front of your dog with a couple inches unraveled. Position it so that he can begin nudging it with his nose to start unrolling it immediately.
• Praise as he unrolls.

And that is it! How long did it take for your dog to learn Unroll It? Comment and let me know!