How to teach your dog the “Down” command?

Where can this skill come in handy?

• The skill is included in all disciplinary training courses and in almost all disciplines of sports with a dog;
• Laying the dog helps to fix it in a calm position and, if necessary, leave this position of the dog for a certain time;
• When training a dog to return to a place, this skill is necessary as an auxiliary technique;
• Laying is used for a more confident fixation of the dog during the development of discipline at the “exposure” technique;
• Examination of the dog’s abdomen, chest, inguinal region is more convenient to produce after laying it.

When and how can you start practicing a skill?

You can start practicing laying with a puppy at the age of 2,5-3 months, but first you need to teach the puppy to sit on command. From a sitting position, it is much easier at the initial stage to move on to developing the styling skill.

With puppies, the easiest way to practice laying is by using food motivation, that is, a treat. It is better to start training a puppy in a calm environment and in the absence of strong distracting stimuli.

What should I do?

1 method

Have your puppy sit in front of you. Take a small piece of treat in your right hand and show it to the puppy, while not giving the treat, but only allowing the puppy to sniff it. Having given the command “Down”, lower the hand with the treat in front of the puppy’s muzzle and pull it forward a little, giving the puppy the opportunity to reach for the treat, but not grab it. With your other hand, press the puppy on the withers, confidently and firmly enough, but without giving him any discomfort. If you do everything right, the puppy will reach for the treat and eventually lie down. After laying, immediately reward the puppy with a treat and stroke it from the top of the withers along the back, with the words “good, lie down.” Then give the puppy a treat again and stroke again, repeating “okay, lie down.”

If the puppy tries to change position, give the “Down” command again and repeat the steps described above. At first, to consolidate the skill and work it out more clearly, be sure to use a treat, even if the puppy, having heard the “Lie down” command, lies down on its own. Repeat practicing the skill several times a day at different times, gradually complicating its implementation (for example, from a standing puppy position or adding yet not very sharp stimuli).

When you start taking your puppy for a walk, try out laying skills outside using the same technique. As a further complication of the skill, try to teach the puppy to lie down near your left leg, and not in front of you.

2 method

This method can be used for young and adult dogs with which styling has not been practiced as a puppy. In case of an unsuccessful attempt to teach the dog the “Down” command, let’s say, the traditional and simple method with the use of treats, you can apply this method.

Take the dog on a leash, move the leash under its muzzle and, having given the command “Lie down”, with a sharp jerk of the leash, induce the dog to lie down, and with your right hand, press hard on the withers. After laying, immediately reward the dog with a treat and stroke it from the top of the withers along the back, with the words “it’s good, lie down.” Hold the dog in a prone position for some time, controlling it and not allowing this position to change.

The method is suitable for stubborn, dominant and capricious dogs. As a complication of the skill in the future, try to teach your pet to lie down near your left leg, and not in front of you.

3 method

If the two previous methods did not give the desired result, you can offer another option for practicing the styling skill. This method is called “cutting”. Give the dog the command “Lie down”, and then with your right hand, passed under the front paws, make a sweep, as if leaving the dog without support on the front paws, and press it with your left hand around the withers, prompting it to lie down. Hold the dog in a prone position for some time, controlling it and not allowing this position to change. After laying, immediately reward your pet with a treat and stroke it from the top of the withers along the back, with the words “it’s good, lie down.”

As a complication of the skill in the future, try to teach the dog to lie down near your left leg.

Mastering the skill requires the owner (trainer) to take clear and correct actions, give the command in a timely manner and reward the dog in time for the technique performed.

Possible errors and additional recommendations:

• When practicing the laying skill, give the command once, without repeating it many times;
• Get the dog to follow the first command;
• When practicing a reception, the voice command is always primary, and the actions you perform are secondary;
• If necessary, repeat the command, use a stronger intonation and act more decisively;
• Complicate the reception gradually, starting to work it out in a more comfortable environment for the dog;
• Do not forget after each execution of the reception, regardless of the chosen method of working it out, to reward the dog with a treat and stroking, with the words “good, lie down”;
• Don’t misrepresent the command. The command should be short, clear and always the same. It is impossible to say instead of the command “Lie down”, “Lie down”, “Come on, lie down”, “Who was told to lie down”, etc .;
• The “down” technique can be considered as mastered by the dog when, at your first command, it assumes a prone position and remains in this position for a certain amount of time.

October 30 2017

Updated: December 21, 2017