A submission roll is done as follows:

  • Get your dog in your general area so that you can easily reach out and postition him.
  • Kneel down and postion your dog so that his side is facing you and he is at your knees.
  • Reach your arms around his rear and his chest and grasp the top of his front and rear legs.
  • In one smooth motion, pull the dog to your chest while leaning forward to the floor. The dog should end up on his side with your chest holding him down.
  • Hold him in this position until he lies still. Do not pet him while he is down, just hold him there and relax him. Repeat a command like "easy" in a calm voice until he calms down. As soon as he stops fighting and lies still, relase him with a release word like "o.k." or "done" followed by an enthusiastic "Good Boy!"
    (Do not use a word that you commonly use as your release word. For example, if you say o.k. often in regular conversation, don't use it to release your dog.)
  • When he automatically lies still when you roll him, sit up while holding him with one hand and roll him completely onto his back. Once again, do not pet him, just hold him there. Keep repeating the calming word. Release him when he holds still, again with your release word and an enthusiastic "Good Boy!" If he tries to get away, lean over and hold him with your chest again until he calms down.
  • Once you can roll him on his back and hold him with one hand, start working on holding him for longer periods of time. If you can hold him on his back with one hand for 30 seconds to one minute, he has accepted you as boss. From here on in, he will respect you as the pack leader and you should have no problem just pushing him over and holding him there if he is being a bad boy. It is still good measure to roll him periodically to reinforce your dominance.


You have just learned a little bit of dog language. This behavior is what a dominant wolf or dog would strive for in the wild as a show of dominance over a subservient wolf or dog. They would grasp the other dog or wolf by the neck with their mouth, however, which is even more intimidating as the winner would have the option of killing his or her opponent should he so desire. I don't suggest that you do this as you will get dog hair in your mouth and your dog's neck would get all wet.

*note*
Some dogs take offense to even the process of you reaching around or being picked up. Even so, you are the boss, so he has to go through with it. If you relent, he wins and he will perceive you as the underling. You must follow through with the exercise no matter how much he fights!