• HOME
• HEALTH and WELFARE
  • External parasites
    • Fleas
    • Ticks
  • Feeding
    • Glossary of ingredients
    • Dry food recommendations
    • BARF - raw feeding
    • Recipe ideas
  • First aid
    • Introduction
    • First aid kit essentials
    • Bleeding
    • Bloat
    • Burns
    • Choking
    • Collapse
    • Convulsions
    • CPR
    • Eye injuries
    • Heatstroke
    • Ingestion of sharp object
    • Lifting and handling
    • Shock
    • Snake bites
    • Stings
  • Grooming
    • Introduction
    • Grooming tools
    • Grooming puppy
    • How to bath your dog
  • Hazards
    • Introduction
    • Food dangers
    • Garden dangers
    • Household dangers
    • Human drugs
  • Health
    • Introduction
    • Dental care
    • External anatomy
    • First season
    • Internal anatomy
    • Physical examination
  • Neutering
    • Castration (male)
    • Spaying (female)
  • Vaccinations
• BEHAVIOUR
  • Chewing
  • Firework season
  • Food guarding
  • Growling
  • Jumping up on people
  • Jumping up on furniture
  • Separation anxiety
• TRAINING
  • Introduction
  • Alpha leader - fact or fiction?
  • Brain exercises
  • Children and pets
  • Clicker training
    • The basics
    • Tips
  • Training basics
    • Down
    • Leave
    • Recall
    • Sit
    • Stay
  • Lead walking
  • Learning theory
  • Introducing a new baby
  • Introducing a new dog or puppy
  • Nothing in life is free
  • Toilet training
  • Training FAQs
  • Training tips
  • Whistle training
• PERFECTLY PUPPIES
  • Introduction
  • I am your puppy
  • Bite inhibition
  • Children and pets
  • Crate training
  • Development stages
  • Exercise for puppies
  • First day at home
  • Introducing a new dog or puppy
  • Introducing a new baby
  • Puppy-proofing your house & garden
  • Shopping list for a new puppy
  • Socialisation
  • Toilet training
  • Walking puppy

Teaching down

1. Ask your dog to sit directly in front of you.

2. Gently coax your dog into lying down, initially using a food lure.

3. Always remember to SLOWLY push the food lure through your dog's front legs towards his tail

4. Say "Down" only once he is in the correct position.

5. Check that your dog's abdomen/belly is in contact with the ground.

6. Gently loop a finger into his collar so that he cannot leap up into a stand.

7. Give gentle verbal praise for staying in position, keep repeating the word "Down".

8. Release your dog from this exercise with "All Done"

9. Never, ever, say Good Boy/Girl.

10. Once released, play with your dog and relax.

Dylan sits nicely	He follows the lure down	Until he reaches the "down" position

Repeat this exercise two or three times every day, in the house, in the garden, out in a quiet street.  Slowly build up the length of time that he has to stay in a position before getting a reward - food or otherwise.

Hints

• Be aware that performing this exercise in a busy public place is very difficult for your dog because there are so many distractions.
  
  
• Dog with very little coat on their abdomens will not be keen to do this exercise on a freezing cold floor - use a towel or bath mat to make it more comfortable.
  
  
• Be generous with your praise - smiling helps!
  
  
• Ignore unsuccessful attempts - if you have three unsuccessful attempts at an exercise, abandon it until later on in the day.  What you do not want to create is a stressed, anxious dog, incapable of learning.
  
  
• STOP at once if you can feel yourself becoming angry or frustrated with your dog.
  
  
• NEVER EVER pull your dog into a down by his elbows
  
  
• NEVER EVER attempt to physically push your dog (no matter how small) into a down - you risk pushing spinal discs out of alignment and a huge vet bill.
  
  
• If you see your dog lying down of his own choice, walk across, give your hand signal for down, say the word and give a small food treat.  In this way, your dog is learning the meaning of the word "Down".  Repeat ad hoc.

That all sounds nice and simple, but it doesn't always work like that.  There are plenty of dogs that will follow the treat with their noses, but their bottoms will come up at the same time, so here is another method to try for teaching the "Down" command.

Sit on the floor with one leg stretched out in front of you.  Make an arch with that leg which the dog could fit under if he was lying down.  Sit the dog on one side of your leg and pass the treat under the arch of your leg.  Hopefully, the dog will follow the treat under the arch and have to lie down to get there.  As soon as he lies down to go under the arch of your leg, give the "Down" command and the treat.  Keep practicing like this, raising the leg higher and higher, until the dog is responding to the command and not the leg.

Copyright © Dogs & Co 2009 unless otherwise stated

Updated July 2009