How to teach pivot to dogs?

A classic exercise in obedience training is to teach the dog to pivot (rear end control) and we also use it to get the dog into position for our gun dog heelwork. If you have been into horse riding you will recognize the term pivot – it’s basically the dog stomping with its front paws at the same spot and turning the rear end around to get into position by your left side. Analyse your dogs position, does your dog come into heel position and sit as straight as you want it to, or what part of the pivot training would you benefit from doing. Train heelwork at least once, train what you and your dog need – it doesn’t have to be the training in the blog post of the day. It doesn’t matter if the dog walks around behind you to get into position or turn around in front of you. But since a lot of people tend to be annoyed that the dog is not sitting straight and it is easier to start walking with a good heelwork position if the dog is sitting straight, I really recommend teaching the dog that.