The down command is the next lesson we are going to learn. Just like the sit command, this is a necessary building block on which you are going to build other commands and skills.
The down command puts your dog into the submissive mode. He is the underdog with you standing above him. You may notice when dogs play, that one will end up in the submissive position while the other is standing over him. As puppies, they are setting their dominance over each other. This is what you should be doing.
Tip: when playing or romping on the floor, never let your dog get on top of you because, in his mind, he is in the dominating position.
The down command puts the dog into a “stay” position and is very good for controlling high spirits. I usually have one of our dogs at my feet when I am sitting down. It’s quite natural for them to lie next to the leader of the pack.
When I get up to go across the room, they may want to get up too. Use the down command to get them to lie back down. Go across the room for whatever reason and then return. It’s a great way to introduce him to the down command.
Let's introduce down as a command
The technique I use involves the use of his collar.
Note: lots of people prefer to remove the collar when they are at home. The upside to that is that the dog feels more comfortable but the downside is that if he gets out of the yard or wanders off for whatever reason, he has no visible identification, in which case he will probably end up in the pound, if he’s lucky. Even if he does have a collar and tag, it’s a good idea to have him micro chipped.
Okay, I digressed.
The technique I use involves the use of his collar.
Standing or kneeling beside him and slightly in front of him put one hand between his shoulder blades and gently press down while pulling down and forward on his collar and at the same time issuing the down command. His legs will start to go out in front of him because he wants to stay up. As soon as his belly hits the ground, tell him what a good boy he is.
Release your grip on his collar but maintain a slight caressing pressure on his back. I like to kneel down with him so that it seems more like a joint effort.
When I am finished with the command I’ll issue my release command, “ok let’s go” and give him a slight smack as I get up.
You will need to follow this technique quite a lot as this may not seem natural to him at first. My dogs never lie completely straight with their legs straight out but tend to go into a relaxed mode. That’s fine for me and is all I want. If you prefer a more exact technique, then please look at one of my reviews.
Once you have both mastered the technique you can move to a more public place where there are other distractions.
Always, when you move away from a confined place, such as your yard, your dog needs to be on a leash until you are comfortable that you have complete verbal control of him.
Increase the time that he is in the down position and then start to move away from him as you did with the sit command.
Try doing other things when you have put him in the down position. I take my dog into the yard and get him into the down position, and then I start doing some weeding in the flower bed. I am still close enough to him and always keep an eye on him. If he starts to get up, repeat the command. When I think he has had enough, I will give my release command, which for me is “ok, let’s go”.
The session is now over. You could immediately go to another place and repeat the same thing.
The point here is that he knows you are still around and can feel comfortable in the down position.
You can now extend this, by going out of his line of vision for a short while. Make sure that he sees you going because he doesn’t suddenly want to find that you are missing and come looking for you.
Some people like to introduce other distractions such as food or a bouncing ball which are very good to increase the obedience level. The links that I have put on this site go into it in more detail.
Remember when you are giving these commands; always be consistent with the command that you are giving and the reward that you are giving. Don’t give rewards for non compliance.
If you are serious about giving your dog good training at home, I highly recommend that you use Dog Training Mastery or one of the training packages on the review page. By the time you finish the course, your dog will go straight down until you issue the release command.
