[POOPSCOOP10]

I was wondering if anyone has any tips to teach my 11 wk old pup the 'down' command? I have been getting him to sit and then gently taking hold of his front paws and pulling them forward until he is in the down position. Once he is 'down' I praise and reward him. Unfortunately though it seems that I am confusing him by taking his paws to get him into position as every time I say 'down' to see if he will do it of his own accord he gives me his paw! Any ideas????

 

[jenni270986]

whilst in the sit you can hold a treat between his front legs and slowly draw it forward, as he tries to get it he should go down into the down then he can have the treat as you say "down".

Sometimes though puppies prefere to stand up and bow to try and get it, if he does this you can sit on the floor with him, and sit with your knee up in an arch. lure him under your knee with a treat and as he goes underneath he'll be forced to go down onto his belly. as he goes down say "down" and as soon as his beely is on the ground "good boy" and reward.

hope that helps (bit hard to explain lol)

jenn

 

[POOPSCOOP10]

Awesome, thanks for that. The first one seems to work (although I already have some very scratched hands - suffering for my, or rather his, art LOL)

 

[Blypark]

I always drop the food on the floor after the dog has gone into position. If you drop a couple of bits of food, then it is easy to stand up without the dog following your hand for the food.
Sherry

 

[MissJ]

I used to hold a treat on the floor and wait until she figured out how to get it. She would try and get the treat and I got very scratched hands too! She worked out that when she layed down, she could have the treat. I then added the command 'down' to the whole thing.

Good luck