Teaching A "down"

[cleptogrey]

just curious- i was wondering what techniques are currently being used by individuals to teach "down". i have trained for many years and it seems as if there is always a new spin on techniques. i generally start w/ luring the pup into an almost down, assisting w/ moving front legs down and a gentle lean(almost a hug) if the pup's rear is still up in the air and LOTS OF TREATS AND PRAISE and a click if i have enough hands. i was just wondering what else people are doing these days. giselle, are you out there? neversaynever....are you there as well?

[JAJ2010]

I just held a treat on the floor until Sunshine got frustrated enough to flop down on the floor with a huge sigh. :lol Little smarty got her brain wheels turning as soon as that treat appeared. Only took one more time for it to be reliable. And the dog cannot figure out how not to be normal in public w/o being terrified, but she can learn down in a flash....

[HeidisMum]

I taught Heidi how to do down. She picked it up within minutes. I took the treat and placed my hand on the floor between her front paws under her chest. She would follow the treat with her nose and then her body followed to the down position. She can do down on voice command now and is also super responsive to any hand gesture that looks like you are moving your hand toward the floor.

 

 

And the dog cannot figure out how not to be normal in public w/o being terrified, but she can learn down in a flash....

 

That summed up Heidi completely.

[onrushpam]

Sit in a hallway with your back against one wall, feet on the floor at the other wall and your knees up. Lure the dog with REALLY good food to come under your knees. When elbows hit floor, give the treat. Then work it further until the entire body is down... Then, work it to just one leg up, then you are just crouched, etc.... just baby steps. It sounds like a long process, but really will only take a few days. You MUST use very high value food! Steak is my food of choice for this!

[Guest Jubilee251]

Never Say Never Greyhounds has a great step-by-step instruction on down. I used it, and Molly was going down consistently within 2 days. I then started giving the command in a squat, and then standing up while luring my hand down, and now we're working on just going down on my voice command.

 

The trick for us was to use a REALLY high-value treat. Kibble and regular ol' liver treats didn't lure her down at first - it only worked with stinky cheese and hot dogs. Now she'll go down for anything.

[Guest bluefawn]

I just held a treat and used my hand for the "down" sign. I moved my hand up and down, saying "Down" when my hand went down. She learned in one day and I no longer even say the word, just move my hand and she's down! Taught her "speak" this way too. And about a month or two ago, I was showing Larry how a dog trainer on tv got her dog to sit. Now we know about most greys and sit - most don't do it. None of mine have ever done it. We were in the kitchen talking and Penny walked in. I showed him how the trainer closed her fist, fingers down, and put it over the dog's nose while backing it up and saying "sit" (of course using Penny as my "model") and when I showed him, Penny sat!! Big as blazes!! I didn't even have a treat in my hand! So of course, I had to give her a treat! We were both amazed, and she has been doing a beautiful "sit" ever since! Give that girl a Yam Good!!

[Guest caelanarcher]

For Aaron's "down", I started with a sit. Then I put a treat right by his collarbone, and dropped it to the floor. It was something extra-yummy (bits of pizza bones, I think), so he followed it, and we worked on less movement for me.

 

For "sit", I just used the lazy method. Wait until he sits (I've got a weird one who sits on his own), then treat and say "good sit!"

[cleptogrey]

ok, watched neversaynever's video and read the instructions and down she is!!!! 2 tries and it was much easier than what my dh was learning in class. they were maniputating the front legs, too fussy. i straddled a chair and had her tunnel under. i knew that there had to be a new trick out there. every dog is soooo different, this one would not be lured into the down position w/o the leg/bridge baracade(sp?). passing the link on to the local school. thanks

[Guest lasharp1209]

Happy to see this thread. I am following Never Say Never's instructions as well with our foster. We've been working for several days and he won't go down without the "leg bridge" yet... I will try some higher value treats and some more repetitions...

[Guest eaglflyt]

Never Say Never Greyhounds has a great step-by-step instruction on down. I used it, and Molly was going down consistently within 2 days. I then started giving the command in a squat, and then standing up while luring my hand down, and now we're working on just going down on my voice command.

 

The trick for us was to use a REALLY high-value treat. Kibble and regular ol' liver treats didn't lure her down at first - it only worked with stinky cheese and hot dogs. Now she'll go down for anything.

 

Ditto!

[cleptogrey]

i always train w/ high quality treats...this pup LOVES cheese and dehydrated liver so far. felix was fussy about cheeses, emmentahler did the trick for him and any left over chicken or meat.emily baitied w/ anything including a bandage on my finger, she chewed thru the food down to the bandage on a stand-stay! one of the trainers i am friendly w/ knows about the tunnel. her comment was,"i leave that trick for the really difficult dogs." i guess i'll be in for fun and games. annie has been doing nice lured downs now w/o the tunnel in the kitchen. my floor space is 6x9' and i have 2 greys cluttering up the floor doing their tricks for a tad of cheese these days.