Teaching your dog to play dead is a show stopping trick that is sure to make even non-dog lovers sit up and take notice. This trick requires the dog to lay on his back with his paws in the air and hold it until released.

1. Get your dog to lie down, then click and treat.
2. Use a treat to roll your dog onto his side, then click and treat.
3. Fade the lure by doing six repetitions in a row and then trying the seventh repetition without the lure, clicking and treating the dog for performing the bahviour.
4. Reintroduce the lure to get him to roll onto his back, then click and treat. Fade the lure after sixth repetition.
5. Go back and put all 3 steps together so that he performs them all in one continuous motion for one click and treat.
6. Fade the lure by working with food for six repetitions then without food for 2 repetitions. Go back and forth until your dog responds the same with or without food. Note : the way you hold your hand will become the exaggerated cue that starts the behaviour.
7. Change the old cue to a new cue by offering the new cue before the motion you used to get the behavior started. Pointing your thumb and forefinger like a gun and saying "bang" is very flashy.
8. Work on speed by only rewarding the dog for quick responses to the new signal. Decide on how many seconds he has to start the behavior and click and treat even before he finishes. Clicking in the middle of the behavior is what builds speed.

Stay with your dog first. Then gradually give the cue for the behaviour at greater and greater distances, only moving further away if the dog performs the behavior reliably. Don't be afraid to do remedial work with "Stay" if the behavior seems to fall apart.