Help Needed! Tips or advice on laying down

[Henry]

I have been unsuccessful in teaching Henry to lay down.

He can sit, stay, shake, high five, and roll over on his back, but I have tried and tried and just cannot get him to learn the command to lay down. This is what I have tried so far and its not working.

Got him in the sit and stay position and put a treat on the floor to lure him into the down position, but as soon as his nose goes to the treat, his butt pops up and he is back standing!

I tried pulling his legs out from under him while he is sitting, so he slides into the down position, but again, he springs right up.

I don't want to force him down and when he tires at the end of the day, he will jump and somersault on the bed and lay upside down with his feet in the air and then close his eyes (yeah, he's weird!).

Any tips on how to teach him to lay down? I am clueless and don't know what else to try.

 

[Emily]

This doesn't answer your question but I talked to a trainer that said he doesn't teach bulldogs the down command because of their breathing issues. I think he meant having them stay down for long periods of time? So I'm curious to hear what other people say because I didn't teach mine the down command either.


Bulldogs are angels in fur coats

 

[cali baker]

Make sure you have The treat in your hand, let him smell it, slowly bring the hand with treat down in front of him, while saying "down". Once he's down, give him the treat. If he pops up b4 he eats the treat , say NO, then lure the treat down again til he stays down. This has worked for me.

 

[cali baker]

[MENTION=4219]Emily[/MENTION], I've never heard that about the down command. I mean, mine are sleeping or laying down most of the day anyways w/out issues so its not a problem

 

[Emily]

@ Cali Baker I know, I don't know why he said that either. Now I'll try it with the treats, thanks!


Bulldogs are angels in fur coats

 

[Henry]

This doesn't answer your question but I talked to a trainer that said he doesn't teach bulldogs the down command because of their breathing issues. I think he meant having them stay down for long periods of time? So I'm curious to hear what other people say because I didn't teach mine the down command either.


Bulldogs are angels in fur coats

I never heard of this before! I am a first time bulldog owner and don't want to teach him anything that may be detrimental to his health. I am curious how laying down would affect his breathing though. He seems to breath just fine and so far has had no issues, but that may be because he is a mix and has a longer nose than a purebred.

 

[Henry]

Make sure you have The treat in your hand, let him smell it, slowly bring the hand with treat down in front of him, while saying "down". Once he's down, give him the treat. If he pops up b4 he eats the treat , say NO, then lure the treat down again til he stays down. This has worked for me.

[MENTION=1904]cali baker[/MENTION] Thank you! I will try this. After reading your post, I think I need to slow down with him. He is so fast to pop his butt up though, lol! But I'm not giving up. I will try the slow lure like you said Thanks again!

 

[BarbaraDavis]

Hi, Annie,

Laying down from a "sit" position is not that natural for dogs, and most are inclined to pop back up. Make sure you touch the food treat to his nose and very slowly move it to the ground right near his toes; as he follows it with his nose he's very likely to lay down. If not, and he keeps popping up, try giving him the treat for only going halfway down. If you can get him to go halfway down consistently without popping up, then it should be much easier to get him to go all the way down from the halfway position!

 

[MeekosMummy]

It took Meeko ages to do it trying what you have been doing too but when i tried it this way he learnt it in about 3 goes!!

Make him sit
Put treat near nose and slowly lower to the floor by his feet so his head follows it down but his butt doesnt lift up
Then slowly drag the treat along the floor towards you so he falls to the lay down bit

the first few times it looked messy but eventually he done it with style

A little tip too - even now meeko REFUSES to lay down on laminate floor or tyles he will only do it on carpet / rug lol i think its a bit cold on his belly. Also he wouldnt do it properly at first if i was stood up so i had to be closer to his level on a chair or kneeling on the floor xx

 

[Henry]

It took Meeko ages to do it trying what you have been doing too but when i tried it this way he learnt it in about 3 goes!!

Make him sit
Put treat near nose and slowly lower to the floor by his feet so his head follows it down but his butt doesnt lift up
Then slowly drag the treat along the floor towards you so he falls to the lay down bit

the first few times it looked messy but eventually he done it with style

A little tip too - even now meeko REFUSES to lay down on laminate floor or tyles he will only do it on carpet / rug lol i think its a bit cold on his belly. Also he wouldnt do it properly at first if i was stood up so i had to be closer to his level on a chair or kneeling on the floor xx

Excellent! I will try this method. Thank you

 

[MeekosMummy]

Good luck - let us know how he gets on

 

[Henry]

Hi, Annie,

Laying down from a "sit" position is not that natural for dogs, and most are inclined to pop back up. Make sure you touch the food treat to his nose and very slowly move it to the ground right near his toes; as he follows it with his nose he's very likely to lay down. If not, and he keeps popping up, try giving him the treat for only going halfway down. If you can get him to go halfway down consistently without popping up, then it should be much easier to get him to go all the way down from the halfway position!

Hi Barbara,
Henry naturally sits when he sees a treat. Its hard to get him to stand still once he is up on his feet. I have tried what you have suggested, but he is so hyper. When he is sitting, he is calm and watches the treat. Our english mastiff was so much easier to train, lol! She would follow a treat right to the floor and lay down just the way you suggested to do. Henry is a bouncy boy. I think he has springs in his hind end and he is lightning fast to respond...but the wrong way. I have to be careful because he will spring up and punch me in the nose with the top of his head! It may be that he is still too young for this one particular command. He is partially successful, going halfway down, when in the sit position, so I am going to try what Tasha suggested first. If it fails, I will wait until he is a little older and more calm before trying again. I hate to say it, but since his teeth started coming in, he is overbearing and hyper. His attention span to learn new things is about 60 seconds then he runs off to go chew something, LOL! It all just may be bad timing on my part to try to teach him right now.