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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on December 5, 2009 at 1:05pm

Dog needs to feel 100% comfortable / relax in order to be on their back, when they are in that position, they become exposed and vulnerable. Flipping them on their back needs to start when they are young, just like handling their feet. It requires total submission and trust. You can start by training her in a lay down position, then lay on their side, then proceed to train her to lay on her back.

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Permalink Reply by Dave L. on December 5, 2009 at 2:56pm

Sounds like she wants to be completely dominant, even over you. I have 3 males, one submissive (goes on back easily) and the others will go on their back on command. Only one pack leader in this house, otherwise I could never have 3 males. You may want to look at other indicators as well, such as who leads the walk, who comes in the door first, is she food etc. Then you may want to read Cesar Milans book "Being the Pack Leader"

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Permalink Reply by DR, Nala & Simon on December 5, 2009 at 3:06pm

Just keep playing with her. She will eventually feel more comfortable and "offer" her belly to be rubbed. Nala, my corgi, although she will sleep on her back, it wasn't until she was a little bit over a year that she "offered" her belly for me to rub. Now that is her "I can get away with anything, because I look cute" pose.

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Permalink Reply by Diana Zipperer on December 5, 2009 at 5:55pm

I just got a corgi from a family that did want him and they said that he would never go on his back without flipping out. Well, I have to tell you that he is on his back and with some work to try and make him feel that I was not going to harm him and that he can trust me. This took about 1 week.
Be firm but kind and make sure that you are the leader of the pack i think that has alot to do with it.
My new dog was the boss in the other family, but not in my home and I think that made the difference.
Good luck be firm but kind.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 5, 2009 at 6:31pm

Being on the back is a sign of relaxed submission. My not-so-dominant Maddie will roll over for belly rubs with people, and roll over to initiate play with Jack. My bossy boy Jack will sleep on his back and roll around on his back, but rarely voluntarily flips onto his back for belly rubs and I've never seen him on his back with another dog. If you watch dogs playing, dogs that are "friends" will roll over voluntarily for more dominant dogs before play-fighting. It seems to be their way of saying "When I try to wrestle you to the ground, please realize that I still think you're the boss."

Dogs can resist being turned on their back because they are dominant, because they are insecure/fearful, because of prior bad experience, because of pain, because they are submissive to you but there are other dogs in the area and they don't want to appear submissive to the other dog, or any number of reasons, so it's tough to say why your particular dog doesn't like it. Jack will tolerate being rolled over by me, but clearly doesn't like it, and I can do it if he's relaxed and I'm talking to him first. Were I to just go right up to him and flip him, he'd have a "What the HECK!" response and struggle to get up and give me the "You're a little crazy, lady; I trusted you and then you just came over and did this?!?" look.

Personally I don't like physical confrontations with dogs most of the time to improve tolerance of this sort of thing. If it were me, I'd practice some of the NILIF ideas (you don't need to do all of them, but your attitude of confident leadership is what's important). Make her wait a few seconds when you put down her food bowl til you say "ok", have her ask before jumping on the furniture, ask her to "sit" before you throw a tennis ball, etc.

Picture in your mind the sort of leader you would happily follow to the ends of the earth, and project that personality around your dog. Gradually desensitize her to other sorts of physical handling besides rolling over. When you pet her, talk to her in a calm, happy voice and play with her toes briefly or look in her ears or run your hand along her gums. Be consistent for a few months, and then after that I'll bet if you sweet-talk her while you are doing it, she will let you gently put her on her back while you are scratching her chest and telling her what a good girl she is.

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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on December 6, 2009 at 9:14am

Beth has given some great suggestions here. I personally think Cesar Millan's training methods can cause some dogs to become more aggressive because of how confrontational and scary they are to the dog.

Corgis are notorious for not liking to be handled so just work on lots of handling. My Lyla used to hate being handled or flipping over (btw, this is a VERY scary position for an insecure dog) so we made it fun. I touched your paw, you get a treat. You lay on your side, you get a treat. I can see your tummy... treat! I never once forced her into this position, but she does if willingly now. She has never been a dominant dog, so it was not that she was trying to "be the pack leader," rather she is very timid and insecure and wasn't going to expose her most vunerable side to an unknown.

Please don't start doing the alpha rolls with your dog either. I have seen way more harm than good come out of those. Do it to the wrong dog and you'll get yourself bit or create a dog that is extremely scared of you and how you constantly need to assert your dominance.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Dadisman on December 5, 2009 at 8:22pm

Rosie was never a problem to get on her back. She would let me roll her over and rub her tummy from the beginning. I taught her to roll over on command in about 15 minutes. Rocky on the other hand fought like a demon when it came to getting on his back. I had to really work and be patient and gentle with him. I would sit on the floor and pet him, then gradually rub his sides and tummy. We went to laying down on his tummy while I petted and rubbed him. I was giving lots of treats all the time I was doing this. We finally got to where I could lay him on his side and rub his tummy while giving treats and gently talking to him. I gradually eased him onto his back over several sessions. He wasn't comfortable at first but tolerated it. This was while he was still pretty young. When I got him comfy on his back, then I taught him to roll over on command. He is fine now and loves tummy rubs, rolls over on command with great glee, and sleeps flat out on his back lots of the time. He and Rosie seem to take turns flipping on their backs for each other when they play. He was very resistant to going on his back at first and I think if I had forced him, he would have gotten pretty nasty. He's a real sweetie but he sure didn't like the idea of being belly up.

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Permalink Reply by Tammey & Caven on December 5, 2009 at 10:22pm

I can get Bear to lay down and roll over for a tummy rub but it takes a little time and some sweet talk. Tammey however, often wants him "let her" roll him over and it sounds like he is going to rip her to shreads. He always gives in without any blood shed but just barely.

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