How to Train Your Dog to Lie Down

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Training Your Dog to Lay Down

1. Have dog sit in front of you.

2. Kneel down and hold a treat in your hand right near dog's nose.

3. Give the command DOWN and slowly bring the treat straight down keeping treat near the nose.

4. Praise abundantly and give him the treat for any slight movement towards a down postion. Be sure to say the word GOOD when praising.

5. Release dog.

6. Repeat for 5 minutes.

[GoldenGolem]

on 12/16/2008 Great article! Works best with puppies :)

on 8/16/2006 My way: After she learns the "sit" command, make her sit, then slowly drag a treat down and repeat "down," then give her the treat. This has worked perfectly for my dog and she can do it with both the command and a hand gesture.

on 6/30/2006 Before I read any training methods, I taught my dog "down" in a different way. I had her sit, took her front paws and gently pulled them down and out so she was in the "down" position, and patted her paws and repeated "down" and "good girl" a few times. After doing this several times she had it down pat. Each day I practice it a few times and everyone is impressed at how well she learned.

on 3/8/2006 Get the dog in the sit position. Then hold a treat above his nose and slowly bring you hand down in front of him and hold the treat on the floor, right in front of him. He might try to lower just his head and get it, try again until he lays down with both his front paws extended. It worked with my 3 months old Border Collie, he understood the command after about 30 minutes.

on 12/9/2005 Have your dog sit and stay still, kneel down next to him and put your arm over his back, grab his paw and gently push on it while pressing down with your armpit and saying "Down" or whatever command you've chosen to teach your dog. Once the dog is down, lightly hold him for a second or two or he may develop an interesting reaction where he dips down and then hops right back up.