Tips/Tricks for teaching "lay down"?

[thesspa]

Hi everyone -
We had orientation last night for puppy school and our homework is to start with the basics. Bacon has the "sit" command mastered but I can't seem get him to "lay down." The instructor said to take the treat from nose to paws once in the sitting position, but my little guy keeps popping back up to all fours to sniff the treat. For the short-legged and stout, I was wondering if bully's need a different approach.

Thanks!

 

[cali baker]

this is how i was taught: have Bacon in the sit command, then take a treat that you know he really likes, let him get a good whiff of it by bringing it close to his nose then as you say "down", slowly bring the treat downwards and hopefully Bacon will follow the treat laying down on his tummy. It took me a few times to do this for Tate to get the down right...he still pops up now and then as well but just don't give the treat to Bacon til he actually does lay down, even if it's just for a second. As more practice goes by, extend the time period to say 5-10 seconds that he stays in the down position. Good luck!!

 

[Biogirl71]

Good advice above - that is how I taught Frank to lay down. He is super stubborn but managed to pick up on that. Now we are trying to shake, which isn't going as well.

 

[thesspa]

this is how i was taught: have Bacon in the sit command, then take a treat that you know he really likes, let him get a good whiff of it by bringing it close to his nose then as you say "down", slowly bring the treat downwards and hopefully Bacon will follow the treat laying down on his tummy. It took me a few times to do this for Tate to get the down right...he still pops up now and then as well but just don't give the treat to Bacon til he actually does lay down, even if it's just for a second. As more practice goes by, extend the time period to say 5-10 seconds that he stays in the down position. Good luck!!

thanks for the feedback - guess I'll just have to keep trying

 

[speechmom53]

We did the treat with Tubs too. That worked, but I know what you mean about popping back up. Here is a suggestion, something we have been doing to work on down with a voice command only. Have him sit. Then kneel next to him so he is on your left side. Take your right hand and put it in his collar under his chin. Using your ALPHA voice, say down, and pull down on his collar. I also find that I need to hold his back side down with my left hand because his head would go down and his butt will pop up. To get him to stay you will need to lay on the floor with him practically on top of him so he doesn't get up (lay over top of him by draping your left arm over him)......30 min intervals.....he will fall asleep, so make sure you wake him up and release him from his down stay by praising him and giving him a treat!

 

[Corlando465]

I had the exact same issue with my pup. After several tries he did get to where he'd go to the floor, but once he got the treat he was back up. After observing other pups in class, we decided some dogs just don't like laying, while others dogs choose this over sitting. Tanks preference is to sit. He doesn't like laying on his belly at all. When sleeping he prefers laying on his side. I don't force the down issue as long as he sits, stays and behaves.

 

[thesspa]

reasons why I adore this site - you know you're not the only one!!! Thank you

 

[speechmom53]

I had the exact same issue with my pup. After several tries he did get to where he'd go to the floor, but once he got the treat he was back up. After observing other pups in class, we decided some dogs just don't like laying, while others dogs choose this over sitting. Tanks preference is to sit. He doesn't like laying on his belly at all. When sleeping he prefers laying on his side. I don't force the down issue as long as he sits, stays and behaves.

I need those stupid ignorant people to read some of these posts....at our old obedience class, where we left because Tubs got picked on all the time, I would work with him on down/stay while waiting for the next step in class. Like you, I had a hard time getting him to stay down. But these people would walk by me and say, "oh the down stay is easy for him." and then start laughing. I got aggrivated and told them that actually it is the hardest thing for him to do. He is actually getting better to where I can put him in a down/stay in the kitchen and he will stay the entire time I am walking around getting dinner. I posted how well he was doing on Facebook and one of my friends also made the same stupid comment and she is a dog groomer....you would think she would know the different breeds better. Maybe I should print out some of these posts and hand them out when people make these types of comments. Like my trainer said (who I love). Bulldogs get a bad rap and they do well as long as you work with them and are consistent!

 

[MissPennyLue]

When we were in class Penny kept popping up. My instructor finally noticed that I was bringing my hand back up to quick after delivering treat and she was still targeting my hand. Just a thought? We did clicker training & I could click her as soon as she was down. Keep practicing!

 

[kim n the guys]

I did the treat with my boys and they all did fine. Also, when you are bringing the treat down from his nose to the floor, move your hands forwards (toward his stomach) so he has to get in the correct position to keep smelling it. That's what our puppy instructor said and it worked really well.

 

[2BullyMama]

this is how i was taught: have Bacon in the sit command, then take a treat that you know he really likes, let him get a good whiff of it by bringing it close to his nose then as you say "down", slowly bring the treat downwards and hopefully Bacon will follow the treat laying down on his tummy. It took me a few times to do this for Tate to get the down right...he still pops up now and then as well but just don't give the treat to Bacon til he actually does lay down, even if it's just for a second. As more practice goes by, extend the time period to say 5-10 seconds that he stays in the down position. Good luck!!

Exactly what we did