Teaching a Insubordinate Dog To Respond To ‘Down’
“Nature to be commanded, must be obeyed” was a well-known expression of Francis Bacon. This idea is nowhere more true than when it comes to teaching dogs. Dogs will have a natural predisposition to search for and stay with a chain of command structure with a leader (alpha) at the uppermost of the pack and all the way down to an omega at the bottom. That is why the ‘Down’ command is unquestionably constructive for enforcing your status as alpha.
Functionally, it is good for your dog to know and obey the down command. This can save your furniture from getting battered about and small children from getting knocked down. It’s also a good start for your dog to learn additional commands such as “crawl” or “roll over” or even tricks.
Training your dog to obey the down command is actually pretty straightforward. Your dog will naturally lie down when he is tired or relaxing. So the first thing to do is study your dog and learn to recognize when he is about to go from a sitting position to a down position.
When this transition is about to occur, you want to give a specific and unique voice command and a hand gesture at the same time. This hand gesture needs to be something you don’t normally do the rest of the time so you don’t confuse the dog. Every time you want to teach a dog a particular behavior, you want to have a distinct and exclusive hand gesture that accompanies that command. Always use a consistent, clear tone of voice so the dog will learn to recognize it.
After you make the command and gesture combination, and as soon as the desired behavior occurs, give the dog lots of praise. Initially, the dog won’t really understand why he’s getting praised. But this is actually irrelevant. As you repeat this consistently, the dog will learn to associate the praise with his action following your command. And this desired behavior will be the link to that praise.
At first your dog probably won’t obey as commanded because he’s not certain what you want. So you will need to be patient and consistent. The best way to teach a new behavior is to work with the dog alone, away from other people and voices and distractions.
Another way to help your dog learn the down command and reward him is to do the following. When your dog is in a sitting position, place a toy or treat on the ground right near the front of the dog’s nose where he will naturally want to lie down to engage with it. At the same time, simultaneously give the down command and then reward the dog with praise when he complies.
Helping to focus your dog’s attention with the toy or snack, use a ‘waving down’ hand movement, with your palm towards the floor position. Be sure to avoid rewarding any dog with praise or a treat unless the behavior is complete and totally correct. However, if things don’t go the way you want them to, be careful not to become upset with the dog.
Some dogs require complementary training with a leash and collar to assist. To do this, get a short leather or nylon leash-a maximum of 4 feet long. Place the dog in the sitting position and kneel so you are in front of the dog facing him.
Now make the command and unique hand gesture you will use for this command while also moving the toy or treat from a spot near the chin of the dog down to the ground. At the same time, calmly and slowly pull down on the leash to nudge the dog into the downward position you desire. Do not jerk on the leash or punish the dog or give any negative feedback. Again, follow up with praise when the dog completes the desired behavior.
Sometimes a dog simply will not get it. So here’s another thing to try. Loop the leash around one of the knees on the dog’s hind legs. Bring the other end of the leash under your foot (on the opposite side) where you can move it with your foot. While giving the command and the gesture, slide the leash with your foot so it buckles the dog’s hind knee and gently pull the dog’s two front legs toward you so the dog gently slides into the down position.
At the Point the dog is in the correct position, you should praise the dog lavishly even though you were the one who initiated the movement and not the dog. The idea is to get the dog to associate such a position with good feelings: both his feelings and yours.
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Tags: dog bedding, dog beds, dog training
dog training | Tom Steffler | 09 November 2009 |
