Trying to teach Samson "down" and I need advice!

[Mod85]

Ok...so Samson is in puppy socialization and of course he's the only short legged pup in the class. He's really good at most all of the commands (sit, look, wait, etc.) BUT he will not lay "down" - the instructor tells me to put the treat in my hand low to the ground and he'll bend down and then to push his back end down. Samsons legs are super short and he won't bend down. Does anyone else have any suggestions on how to train the "down" command?:D

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Jake is 7 months old and I'm still working on this! Please learn so you can teach me!

 

[JeannieCO]

That's exactly how I taught Wilson down. It took quite a few times of me gently pushing his back end down while holding the treat in front of him and lowering it but it works. I found that if I said DOWN in a bit louder voice and put my hand down fast it worked better for him. That's about all I can offer .

 

[NikkiSchoolcraft]

I taught my bullies by having them sit first and then follow a treat down to the floor....instead of the other way around. They also responded to the word "lay" better than "down". Just remember...lots of praise make training more fun for them.

 

[LucysMum]

To add what Nikki said...I taught Lucy to lay down from sit position. Take a training treat in you hand. Make them sit. Put treat closed in your hand and hold it to their nose. Let the pup smell it and even lick it. Start slowly moving your hand to the floor and say the down or lay command. The pup will follow your closed hand with the treat down to the floor. When they do it correctly give the treat and praise!!! You have to practice this quite a bit but they should catch on. Good luck!

 

[Davidh]

Hey 3 out of 4 commands ain't bad

 

[JeannieCO]

I taught my bullies by having them sit first and then follow a treat down to the floor....instead of the other way around. They also responded to the word "lay" better than "down". Just remember...lots of praise make training more fun for them.

Yes yes, Wilson learned to sit first too, very important first step.

 

[izstigspunks]

Yup, make him sit first. A lot of the commands are actually much easier when they're in the sit position, like paw or handshake.

 

[Lucy-licious]

it took ages for Lucy to understand the down command. We tried it from sit as has been suggested....all this got us was her bum stuck in the air and her nose on the floor
She did eventually get it and all the whooping and clapping that instantly followed helped her to realise that Down was the best trick she could do
now when she's sees her treat jar being reached down she will look at you then PLOP down she goes on her tummy :D

 

[Sarah]

brooklyn won't do down either. she does sit, wait, and high 5 so far. but as soon as she sees a treat she sits automatically without any command, it's sooo funny.

 

[cali~jenn]

Yep exactly what Lucysmum said, sit first then bring the treat down from their nose to the floor and they will follow, hopefully. Worked very easily with my boys this way.

 

[wfd38383]

Guinness does sit well but will not lay at all. Put the treat from.his nose to the floor and he just bends over and puts his head down. Damn short legged dogs. He will be doggie school dropout

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[Mod85]

[MENTION=2099]LucysMum[/MENTION] THANK YOU - what you described actually worked and he'll now get down on his belly without me forcing him down!

 

[LucysMum]

[MENTION=2099]LucysMum[/MENTION] THANK YOU - what you described actually worked and he'll now get down on his belly without me forcing him down!

That is AWESOME. Make sure you continue to practice!! Eventually they will do it on command but that took lots of practice for my girl.

 

[laurendoodler]

Yup, what [MENTION=2099]LucysMum[/MENTION] said is exactly what I was going to suggest!

Much easier to train when they're already in the sit position, from my experience!