How to teach a dog to play dead with Bang

After teaching your dog basic commands, such as "come" "sit" "down" and "stay," it might be fun to teach him some tricks. Not only will this impress your friends and family members, it also creates an opportunity for you to spend quality time with your furry pal. Dogs that play dead are the show-stealer in many movies, and with patience and consistency, you can teach your dog to do the same thing, each time you say "bang."

Step 1

Take your dog for a walk and allow him to run and play so he's burns pent-up energy and is eager lie down and rest. You want him to be calm and relaxed for his training session.

Step 2

Practice playing dead on command in a quiet area of the house that's free of distractions. Close the curtains to avoid outside distractions and avoid loud noises from family members or the television.

Step 3

Arm yourself with a bag of treats and tell your dog "down" or another command that you use to get him to lie down. Then, kneel in front of him on the floor.

Step 4

Take a treat in your hand and hold it at the side of your dog's head. Move the treat in front of his nose toward his shoulder blade on the other side of his body. As he follows the treat with his nose and his body falls on its side, say "bang" and gently roll him over on his back to give him a belly rub so he stays down. Then, give him the treat and say "good bang" to reinforce his good behavior.

Step 5

Repeat step 4 about five to 10 times during each training session so your dog eventually starts associating the "bang" command with falling over and getting rewarded. Avoid forcing the training -- if your furry pal gets frustrated, stop and continue the next day.

Step 6

Stop touching your dog to help him stay down as he gets more comfortable with the "bang" command. While he's lying on his back, wait a little longer each time before praising him and letting him have the treat. If he gets up prematurely, you might be progressing too fast. Just continue using your hands to gently encourage him to stay down.

Step 7

Incorporate a hand signal with your verbal command. Make a gun-like shape with your fingers and point and shoot it at your dog as you give the "bang" command. With consistent practice, your pet companion should be able to play dead each time you give the verbal command and hand signal.

Step 8

Say "OK" to release your dog out of the dead position. At first, you might have to clap your hands excitedly while saying "OK" to get your dog to understand that he can get up. Over time, he'll learn that "OK" means that he can get up.

Tips

• If you have young kids, consider using "boo" or "take a nap" as the command instead of "bang." Also, consider skipping the hand signal or changing it.

An Item You Will Need

• Dog treats

References

• 101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog; Kyra Sundance, Chalcy
• Imagine Life with a Well-Behaved Dog: A 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program; Julie A. Bjelland

Tips

• If you have young kids, consider using "boo" or "take a nap" as the command instead of "bang." Also, consider skipping the hand signal or changing it.

Writer Bio

Kimberly Caines is a well traveled model, writer and licensed physical fitness trainer who was first published in 1997. Her work has appeared in the Dutch newspaper "De Overschiese Krant" and on various websites. Caines holds a degree in journalism from Mercurius College in Holland and is writing her first novel.

To teach your dog to play dead on command, start by teaching basic commands like "down," "sit," and "stay." Try to practice these commands several times a day using 10-15 minute training sessions, and be sure to give treats and verbal praise as positive reinforcements. Once your dog masters those commands, select a verbal command like "Bang!" for playing dead and practice having your dog go from standing to lying down on cue! For tips on adding a visual cue for playing dead, read on!

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Need a cute dog trick to wow your friends and family? High five is always a crowd-pleaser. Or how about spin? Not impressive enough? How about something a little more dramatic? How about playing dead?

A dog that rolls over to play dead on cue looks like a total genius. Really, however, this trick is no harder to learn than any other basic cue. Here’s the skinny on how to teach your dog to play dead.

Teach your dog to lie down first

To teach a dog how to play dead, they first need to lie down on cue.

If your dog doesn’t already know how to lie down, show them how! Here is the progression:

• Bend head down
• Stretch to touch belly to ground
• Repeat

And here’s how to teach it.

1. With your dog in a sit, put a treat between your fingers with your palm facing down. Hold your hand in front of their nose and lower it straight to the ground.

When your dog bends towards the ground, mark it with a clicker or a marker word (“Yes!” works well) and reward them. Repeat five times.

2. Next, ask your dog to sit. With a treat between your fingers and your palm facing down, lower your hand straight down from their nose, then pull it back towards yourself.

When their belly is on the ground, mark and reward. Repeat five times.

3. Repeat Step 2, this time with no treat in your hand. Mark and reward when your dog’s belly hits the ground and practice it at least five times.

4. Now add a verbal cue. Say the word “down” then lower your empty palm to the ground. Mark, reward and repeat.

5. Finally, fade out your hand signal. Ask your dog to sit then say “down.” Give them about five seconds to think it out. If they respond and lie down, mark and celebrate with a reward!

If they don’t get it, show your hand signal instead of repeating the verbal cue. When their belly is on the ground, mark and reward.

How to teach a dog to play dead

Now that you have a solid down, here’s how to teach your dog to play dead!

• Ask your dog to lie down. When comfortable, dogs will favor one hip or the other. Look at which way their weight is leaning, then grab a treat.
• Hold the treat at your dog’s nose. Move it diagonally over the opposite shoulder from the weighted hip (i.e., if your dog’s weight is on their left hip, you will move the treat over your dog’s right shoulder).
• As your dog leans backward, mark and reward them. Repeat five times.

Pro-tip: In the beginning, ask your dog to lay on a soft surface so that rolling over feels less scary!

• Repeat Step 2, moving your hand from your dog’s nose diagonally over their shoulder. This time, don’t mark and reward until they are all the way on their back. Practice at least five times.

• Try Step 3 again, with no treat in your hand. Mark and reward your dog when they roll onto their back. Repeat at least five times.
• Now make your hand into a gun shape. Hold this shape in front of your dog’s nose and move it diagonally over their shoulder the same way you did in Step 4. Mark and reward when they roll on to their back. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
• The last step is to add a verbal cue. With your dog already laying down, say the word “Bang!” (or an equally appropriate phrase) then point your hand “gun.” Mark and reward their dog when they respond by rolling onto their back.

Check out this video to see this in action.

And that’s it! Have fun and get ready to wow your friends and family with your dog’s trick repertoire.

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