In this activity, you are teaching your dog to lay down with their belly completely resting on the floor (not resting on their side). They should also be looking at you.
The down commands helps extend your dog’s ability to communicate with you. With each new command or task, your dog is also gaining trust that you can lead them and take care of them.
Setting up for the Activity
For this activity we recommend that, as much as possible, you “ditch the bowl,” which means that you temporarily feed your dog their daily portions through training rewards, rather than in their bowl.
Use the hand/finger position taught in the Follow My Hands (Apple #3). Take several pieces of food in the palm of your hand, and dispense pieces with your thumb by rolling them from your palm to your fingertips.
If you are not feeling kind, calm, and confident, do not train your dog until you are in a better mental state. Kindness is a choice, calmness takes practice, and confidence comes with education, which will grow as you master this activity.
Activity Steps
Start by putting your dog on a leash. You are going use the leash to restrain the dog’s movement, which will force them to move downward instead of forward. With your foot, pin the leash to the ground to the side and towards the rear of your dog, so that they cannot move forward.
As you stand at the front of your dog, move your treat hand (Apple #3 position) down to the ground directly in front of your dog, and place it where they can drop to their belly to grab the treat.
In the exact moment that your dog’s belly touches the ground, mark the correct behavior with a “Yes!” and dispense a treat from your treat hand. As your dog starts to get the hang of it, change “Yes” to “Yes! Down!”
The marker needs to happen in the very moment your dog succeeds. Otherwise, your dog will be confused about what you are asking them to do. After marking and treating, make sure to praise them as well.
Once your dog knows how to go down by following your treat hand, you want to train them on a hand command instead.
Have a treat ready in your treat pouch or in your other hand, but use a non-treat hand to give the hand signal. Start with the same leash position as before, so your dog is restrained the same way.
Flatten your hand with the palm towards the ground, fingers closed together. While lowering your hand, say “Down!” and touch your hand to the ground.
Your dog should follow your hand all the way to the ground, and end up on their belly. If they don’t follow the hand, go back to using a treat, and practice more with a food lure before trying again.
The moment their belly hits the ground, mark the correct behavior with a “Yes!” and treat them from your other hand. As your dog get better at this, try not lowering your flattened hand all the way to the ground.
If your dog is struggles, consider the three D’s—distance, duration, and distraction. Shorten the distance between you, or the length of time you require them to obey before rewarding, or lessen any distractions (noises, children, other dogs, etc).
Training Pattern
At first, you start by using a treat to encourage your dog to perform a desired behavior. Then reward them with the marker word “yes,” accompanied by a treat.
Second, you do the same thing, but you add the command to the marker word by saying, “Yes! Down!” This associates the command with the desired behavior.
Third, you do everything the same, except that you speak the command word as you begin. You will continue using a treat in your hand to encourage your dog. Each time they are successful, say “Yes!” (no need to add the command word here), and treat.
Finally, you will begin by speaking the command, and when your dog succeeds at the desired behavior, no treat or follow-up “Yes!” is needed.
The body language of lowering your flattened, down-turned hand should always accompany the spoken command. Body language is even more important than the spoken command.
Training Over Time
As your dog succeeds at this activity, increase the distance between you and your dog. If you dog falters at a further distance, shorten the distance back to where they last succeeded, and always end on a success.
You should also randomize the treating, so that your dog is not dependent on a food lure to follow the command.
As you dog gains a good grasp of this activity, consider the three D’s again. Now, increase the distance as you train, require a longer duration before rewarding, and add in distractions to help your dog succeed at higher and higher levels.
