How do you train a dog to “lay down”?
Posted: April 16th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: Common Questions | Tags: Down, Train | 7 Comments »Well, my dog is already 7 years old, and he is such a good dog and knows some tricks and is potty trained and all that stuff, but he doesn’t know “lay down”, but of course he does it but not when I say it. How do I teach him to lie down on command?
maybe try the comand when hes about to lay down say it. and when he does it give him a treat. and soon he will no if you say laydown he will have to laydown
Get a treat, use the word “Down”, and coax him down (treat under his nose, bringing it to the floor). When he lays, throw a party-”GOOD BOY! YES! GOOD DOG!” pet him, and treat.
One of the best ways to teach a dog the “down” command is to first put them in a “sit”, then hold a treat in front of their nose and lower it to the ground while giving the “down” command. The dog’s nose should follow and it should lay down.
This is how I was taught to do it with my cocker spaniel when we did beginning level obedience training, and it worked spectacularly.
My dog’s 10 and I’m currently teaching her to “lay down” lol, so don’t worry about how old he is.
Get a dog biscuit, and first get him to sit. (if you don’t know how to do that, show him the biscuit then kind of pull it a little over his head. It’s a start.) Then, once he sat, have the biscuit at his nose, then pull it down, then pull the dog biscuit along the floor kind of while saying, “Lay down” or “Lay”.
Hope this helps you, it works for me! =D
It depends heavily on the energy level of your dog. For example, I own two pitbulls and a Husky. The Husky was MUCH easier to train then the pitbulls.
Before teaching a dog ANY tricks the dog must view you as being the “dominant” one in the household. I suggest walking your dog and establishing leadership before attempting to train your dog to do anything.
Once leadership is established, and your dog is tired and has been challenged, THEN you can begin ‘training’ it.
First does he know sit then if he does tell him to sit bring your hand at his nose and gently bring his head down until hes lying then say lay or whatever you want the command to be called then do this repeatably then try it by just telling him do this exercise over and over again until it works.
The idea about having a dog sit, etc. is the way to go.
Here’s a couple of extra tips.
When you have the dog sitting and showing the dog the food, you bring the food straight down between the dog’s front paws. As the dog starts to get the food, you bring the food forward slowly. All of this happens while you are saying “down”.
Don’t put your hand on the dog’s shoulders.
Don’t try to push the dog’s shoulders down.
What happens here is that you get a resistance response. You push down and the dog wants to push up.
If when you put the food between the dog’s front paws, the dog stands up, simply stop put the dog on a sit and start again.
If you find your dog’s front end going down, but the back end coming up, that means that you’re pulling the food forward too quickly.
Have fun.
REMEMBER. Down means to lay down. ie. if your dog goes on the couch and you tell the dog down, and the dog lays down, you can’t correct them. They’ve done what you want. You need to teach a new word like off.