Trick Training - Spin

"Spin" is another fairly easy trick to teach your dog. It is fun on its own, in a combination of tricks, and is also handy to learn if you hope to do Doggie Dancing.

To begin, stand (or sit if you have a small breed) with your dog in front of you. Hold a treat in front of the dogs nose. Slowly guide the dog in a circle, and when he completes the circuit, click and reward. When you repeat this, make sure you use the same direction every time, so as not to confuse the dog. Continue to repeat this until the dog gets the hang of it. You can then introduce the verbal command. When your dog is doing it reliably, remove the lure, but continue to use the wide sweeping motion with your arm. With plenty of practise, you will be able to reduce the physical cue to a simple spinning motion with your finger. But remember to only use ONE direction.

You can use the above process to teach the dog to spin in the other direction. You must remember to use a different command though. I use "spin" for anti-clockwise, and "twist" for clockwise, but you can use whatever words you want, as long as there is a distinct difference. 

I told you that was an easy one! I have incorporated this into a doggie dancing routine, where Lunik spins around a walking cane, (or whatever I am using as a prop.) However, although I use the same hand gestures, I use a different verbal command, so she is associating the verbal command with the cane.