The 'Down'
command
Hi,
my name is Sue Walton,
and I love teaching
others my insider tips to
dog training. While you
can learn the basics of
what you need to know
from my articles, I
sincerely recommend you
get hold of a copy of
'Secrets to dog training'
which was formerlly known
as 'SitStayFetch'. Daniel
Stephens provides you
with breed
specific
training tips and secrets
quite unlike anything
else you will
find.
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Want your dog
to learn the
'DOWN' command
as fast and
easy as
possible?
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In this
article I will refer to click
and clicker training, this is a
very common training aid and
you can learn more about the
clicker and how to use it in
this article. In this
text we presume you have read
and learnt the basics of
clicker
training.
Start by
coaxing your dogs attention
with a treat. Begin with your
dog in a sitting position. Hold
the treat in front of his nose,
then move it slowly down to the
ground, in front of him, but
far away to know he hasn’t
earnt it quite yet! Keep it
there until he lays down. After
he lies down, hit the clicker
and let him enjoy his treat. If
the dog refuses to lie down,
wait until he shows signs of
lowering his body or motioning
to lie down. Push gently on his
back to guide him, now click
and give him his titbit. Keep
this lesson up, until he has
learned that until he lies down
he doesn’t get the
treat.
Once he lies
down confidently, raise the bar
by holding the food a couple of
inches off the ground, away
from him. What we hoe he will
do, is to lie down in
anticipation of the treat! He
may well be very confused, but
keep patience and guide him,
rewarding correct behaviour
patterns.
After a little
practice, begin giving a “down”
command just before you
present the treat to lead the
dog down. And gradually, inch
by inch, start holding your
lure further up off the ground
and further away from the dog’s
nose. The idea is to wean the
dog off of the lure, so that he
begins to respond to a simple
downward sweep of your
hand.
In a couple of
weeks, possibly sooner, your
dog should respond well to the
command as your say it, and
hopefully the hand signal lures
him in as well.
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