How to teach a dog to spin

You need a clear space about twice your dog's length across, a non-slip floor and small treats your dog will follow nose-first. Pick two words now, such as spin for one way and twist for the other, because the AKC's evaluator guide notes that more advanced trick dogs learn to spin right and spin left on separate cues. The same guide describes the Novice spin as a full, tight circle, as though the dog were chasing its tail, done at least twice.

Spin is not the same as circle. In AKC Trick Dog terms a spin turns on the spot, while a circle goes around a person or an object, so keep your hand close to the dog's head for a tight turn. Check the body as well. The AKC suggests a full vet check before starting a sport or fitness routine, and advises waiting for a dog's growth plates to close before any structured conditioning, so a puppy gets one slow turn now and then, not sets of fast ones.

Turning in a tight circle asks a dog to bend through its whole body and place its back feet with some care, which is why trainers like it before exercise. The AKC's conditioning basics article names spinning, along with bowing and crawling, among stretches you can teach with a lure. It recommends gentle warm-ups and cool-downs, and favors active stretching in which the dog decides how far to go. Spin fits that description: the dog sets the bend, not your hands.

Before an off-season run on the sand, open to dogs from October 1 on Gloucester's beaches at the time of writing, with Good Harbor on even-numbered days and Wingaersheek on odd ones, walk for five minutes, then ask for two slow spins each way and a couple of bows. Do the same before fetch in the yard or a romp at the Gloucester Dog Park at Stage Fort. Keep the spins slow; a string of fast ones winds a dog up instead of warming it.

Spin is a Novice trick in the AKC Trick Dog program, and the Novice title takes ten tricks, or five for a dog with its Canine Good Citizen already on record at the AKC. At Novice level the handler may use a lure, so a dog following your hand still counts. Testing is done by an AKC Approved CGC Evaluator, in person or virtually. Our Canine Citizen Academy prepares adolescents and adults for the CGC test, which can turn ten tricks into five.

For body awareness beyond the living room, Dogtown Academy days, $89 full or $69 half, include fitness blocks with treadmill sessions, low-height agility and the A-frame, plus a training session with our trainer and a report card on what to practice at home. Private sessions start from $94 if your dog will not follow a lure or turns only one way, and Gabriella Pope leads the team. On a wet Cape Ann day, spin is one of the easiest indoor games you have.