Down is a core puppy training exercise very useful in many situations. If your dog tends to be boisterous when visitors are coming over and you need him to be calm, it’s nice to be able to ask him to lie down. Or if you have a big dog like I do – I have Great Danes – I find that not everyone is comfortable having dogs look them straight in the face while they’re trying to enjoy a nice meal. Being able to ask my dogs to Go To Bed and have them lie down is helpful.
Training Instructions:
Stand in front of your puppy and see if he’ll offer you a sit (he might if he thinks you have a treat behind your back, but try not to always have your treats visible; you don’t want a dog that will only perform at the sight of treats). It’s best if you don’t have to ask for the sit; we’re working and we don’t want the puppy to think the cue is Sit and then Down. Simply Down is what we’re looking for.
Thank your dog for sitting but don’t give him a treat. Instead, hold a treat right in front of puppy’s nose, then move it slowly straight down towards the floor. Don’t move your hand in an angle forward or towards yourself. It might make puppy get up. Moving it straight down will make your pup follow the treat and if he wants it, he’ll most likely have to slide into a down position. If he does, mark it with a Yes! and release the treat. Repeat this action until the pup realizes that it’s being in the down that gets him the treat.
If he reliably follows the treat and slides easily into down, start adding the work Down right before the luring motion and see if you can "trick" the puppy to follow your hand motion without a treat in hand. If he does, immediately give a treat from your other hand. Now you have the beginning of a hand signal instead of a lure; now you’re ready to ask for a down while standing a little more upright. Say Down in a clear voice and wait a few seconds to see if puppy will comply. If he does, mark it with a YES! and give him a great treat and praise. If he doesn’t, make a modified luring motion towards the floor to help puppy understand what you’re asking for. It might be all he needs.
Be careful not to repeat the word Down over and over again. It’s tempting for impatient humans to do but it won’t help your dog. He doesn’t speak English and if he doesn’t understand what you’re asking for, repeating it over and over will not help him. He will respond so much better to your body language and encouragement.
If your puppy won’t slide into a down when lured, try capturing the behavior; that means waiting until he lies down by himself, then marking it the second he does and rewarding him. Once he understands that lying down is rewarded, he’ll offer the behavior often and you can capture it while saying the word Down as he’s doing it. Soon you can move the word up front to elicit it. Or, you can help him by marking and rewarding each little approximation to the final behavior. That’s called Shaping. Mark any head movement or lowering of a paw towards a down.
Eventually, your pup will go all the way down into the complete Down. Be aware that many dogs don’t like being on a cold, hard floor. In the beginning, you might be more successful if you try this on a comfy dog bed or rug. For small dogs, having the pup up on your bed or couch with you crouching next to the bed might be helpful.
