Learning the Down Command

A More Comfortable Stay Position for Your Dog

Steps for Teaching Down

1. To begin, face your dog and place him in a sit.

2. Put a dime size or smaller tasty treat between your first and index fingers

3. Use the down hand signal . Put your hand out with palm facing the ground.

4. With your hand and treat just in front of the dogs nose, “push” your hand straight down from the dog’s nose to his feet.

5. The dog will usually end up lying down while following the treat with his nose.

6. If he does not lay down on the first try, take the treat away, say your negative word, then try again.

7. It may take a few attempts initially, but once the dog is lying down, give him the treat and praise with your positive word.

8. Once your dog understands what you want, you can begin to shorten the hand signal. Put your hand out with palm down and make a small push motion.

9. You can also add the verbal command, “down” once he is consistently lying down with the hand signal.

Knowing "down" is beneficial when you want your dog to relax. While waiting at the vets, put him in a down. Put him in a down/stay while you are eating dinner. Anytime you want your dog to stay for more than a couple of minutes, putting him in the down/stay will be much more comfortable for the dog.

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