Teaching your dog to ‘turn’ on command is a great party trick that’s surprisingly easy to master. As with any training it takes time but if you follow the simple steps below you’ll be well on your way…

Step 1: As always, arm yourself with your dog’s favourite treat. Place it near to his nose and slowly coax him to do a full turn, saying the command as you do so. If he stops ‘mid turn’ don’t give up – keep coaxing until the turn is complete and then reward.
Step 2: Repeat step 1 but slowly speed up the turn and move the treat further from your dog as you do so. Eventually you’ll be able to get him to complete the turn just by circling the treat above his head.
Step 3: Once you feel more confident it’s time to lessen the movement of the treat. Keep repeating the ‘turn’ command but use smaller and smaller circles above your dog’s head. At this point the ‘word’ should start to mean more than the ‘action’.
Step 4: Eventually the treat will no longer be needed but make sure you continue to reward when the ‘turn’ is complete.

Those 4 steps sound simple and straightforward but this trick does require some time and effort. As always, keep training sessions short and if your dog starts to regress or get over-excited about what’s going on be sure to take a break.