On television and in the movies we see a trick that we find very funny, which consists of a dog playing dead, for which it lies down on its belly when its master tells it to.
Sometimes this command is accompanied by the simulation of a shot with the hand, which makes it even funnier and this is something we can achieve with our dog.
We start by teaching him to lie down
The first thing we need in order for a dog to play dead is for him to know how to lie down and stay still in that position, so we must teach him the command.
If he knows how to sit, it will be easier, so first we tell him to sit and then we give him the instruction to lie down, something that we will accompany with a treat, which is known as positive reinforcement.
At first it will be difficult, but after a few days we will get him to lie down every time we give him the command and it is even possible to remove the treats and exchange them for caresses or praise.
We can ask him to sit and then go to the ground, or have him get on the pavement directly, whichever we see gives us the best results.
The next thing is to get him to be still for a few seconds
We have to go little by little, so the next step is to maintain the lying position , what is known as “still”, which is what we must tell him to make him listen to us.
Again, we will resort to treats and give him one every time he holds on, without moving for a few seconds, so that he relates staying still with his reward.
Since he already knows how to lie down, getting him not to move should take less time than teaching him to sit or any other similar command.
Now we have to work on the turn
We have less left and now comes one of the most important parts, getting the dog to turn in a movement that is not the most natural for them.
Telling him to stay still, we put a treat in the nose area and move it to the sides, with the aim of our dog making the turn on his own without getting up.
The first few times he will not do it (he will get up), but he will realize that then there is no reward and that he will receive it if he turns on the ground, which is when we give him the reward.
There may be animals that cannot rotate on their own and we will help them by pushing them gently until they are on their stomachs, although we will not get them to adopt this position on the first try.
We must think that it is a position that shows submission in the dog's behavior , since it exposes its soft parts "to the enemy" as a sign that it does not want to fight and that complicates everything.
Little by little we force him to turn more
You have to reinforce the turning until we demand more, only giving the treat when it rotates more and more and remains belly up.
At that moment is when we are going to give him his favorite treat, so that he can make the association that will cost more or less depending on the age of the dog and the breed, since there are some that are more intelligent than others.
In addition, it will also depend on the size of the dog, because in giant breeds like the mastiff it is better that we do not try it because it can end up causing damage due to its weight.
When the turn is complete we show you the order
A final step is to set the command, so that the moment we say it, our dog does the entire sequence that we have taught him without the need for us to give him a treat or something to eat.
It is done using food, which is what they lose. Thus, when they are already on their stomachs, we say the word that will make them play dead and we reinforce it with the reward.
Since dogs learn by repetition, you will have to do it several times, without tiring them, until they relate it well and know what to do when we say that specific word, which we can accompany with a gesture.
The gesture can be anything, but the one with the gun looks good, especially if we add a “pum-pum” which will be the command that tells our pet that he has to play dead.
You should choose a quiet place without distractions.
Getting a dog to play dead is complex, since it has to master a few commands separately, and then be able to put them all together.
Therefore, if we want to achieve results, it is best to practice in a very quiet place , like a room in the house where no noise can be heard and where no one passes by during the five and ten minutes that we will spend each day.
A secluded area of the park or even the field if there is no traffic or loose wild animals is also useful, as this way we will ensure that our best friend focuses on his training.
We must not forget that in addition to giving food, we must ensure that the dog takes his exercises as a game, so we must always remain calm, use soft words and show calmness.
We can reward him even more if at the end we go for a walk or start playing with him, so he knows that after obeying us something good comes.
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