Last week I wrote about the practical application of the sit command learned in an obedience class.
Applying the sit command to situations like sitting at the front door sets boundaries for your dog, resulting in a better-behaved dog.
This week we will learn how to apply the down command.
I once had a client ask me the purpose of teaching a dog to lie down.
In a way, this is a very valid question since the down command, as it is practised in an obedience class, really has no use in everyday life. But it does have a very practical application when it is morphed into other exercises such as "go to your bed and lie down."
A dog cannot be expected to go to its bed and lie down on command and stay there unless it has learned how to go into the down position on command first. So the command "down" as it is learned in an obedience class is the foundation of an essential exercise on boundaries and limitations.
To begin teaching this exercise, determine what you want your dog to lie down on, be it a dog bed or inside its crate (notice I did not include a couch or human bed). The area is insignificant because your dog will associate this command with its bed. This means that the bed can be moved anywhere giving the owner greater flexibility with those boundaries.
Next, have a handful of treats at your disposal and bring Fido over to its bed. Then, lure it into a down on the bed using a treat if you need to. If you are using a crate then remove the top portion of the crate during the initial training phase of this exercise and just use the bottom half.
Once Fido is in a down position on the bed, say the command "go to your bed" and give Fido a treat. Repeat and reinforce this exercise eight to 12 times. At this point in the training we are associating the dog bed and the down position with the command "go to your bed." If Fido breaks the down position, just start again. They do learn faster if they do not break that down position at this stage of the training. End this exercise with a release command. You should have learned about the release command in your obedience class. It is a command that allows the dog to break the given command upon the owner's will, not the dog's will.
The next step is to lure the dog onto its bed.
Begin with the dog standing about two feet from the bed, place a treat at the dog's nose and say the command "go to your bed." Then lure the dog onto the bed and into the down position and repeat the command. Once the dog is in a down position on its bed, repeat "go to your bed" and give another treat. Then give the dog a release command and allow it to leave the bed.
Repeat the above exercise six to eight times.
Do not use the "down" command during the training as we are teaching the dog that the command "go to your bed" is a separate exercise from the down exercise.
If your dog does this part successfully you can proceed to the next step.
Stand about three feet from the bed with your dog. Say the command "go to your bed" and point at the bed while you toss the treat onto the bed. Your dog will likely go to the bed for the treat. Once it is there, repeat the command "go to your bed" and lure it into the down position.Repeat this five to six times.
During the next stage, stand four feet from the bed with your dog. Say "go to your bed" and point at the bed. Do not toss the treat this time. Your dog will likely go to the bed expecting the treat. Once it is there, repeat the command and simply wait. Your dog is now thinking. It may take a few seconds, but it will likely lie down on its own. If it does not lie down, then repeat the step before this one a few more times.From here on, it is just practice and patience until your dog has perfected it. Then you can begin to apply it as needed to manage your dog's behaviour.
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her via her website k9kinship.com.
