German Shepherd Sam is super intelligent, very well-trained, and loves to show off her cool tricks.
But the one she's absolutely best at is "play dead", as the following video shows.
And the Oscar goes to Sam
She looks attentively at her owner – she is ready to do just about anything for that tasty treat he’s holding in his hand. First, he asks her to stay. She does as commanded, and waits patiently for his next instructions. Then he says “Bang!”
She instantly turns around as if hit in the back legs, and rolls over onto her back, all fours in the air. Her performance is so on point that she even lets out a yelp before going through the motions. If there’s one thing she could work on, it’s her facial expression. She doesn’t look that distressed to us. Rarely have we seen a cuter death scene.
Magic or training?
Not all dogs can play dead! Some dogs’ physical makeup means its hard for them to lie on their backs. But if your dog is fine to lie down and roll over even on hard surfaces, then teaching them to play dead shouldn’t be too hard!
It takes a lot of practice, but if your dog gets as good as Sam, then it’s so worth it!