Teaching your dog to lie down is a handy cue as it leads to more advanced behaviors. When your dog can lie down at the right time, he can stay on his bed or master tricks like rolling over or crawling. Sky is the limit! Your pup will enjoy the training and your friends will be impressed.
How to teach your dog to lie down
Before you start training, follow these tips to set up your environment for a successful session:
- First, to set your dog up for success, train him before you begin the training session. He must be tired enough to be able to want to lie down.
- Collect his favorite dog treats. The reward should be something your dog likes and will follow with his nose when you try to entice him.
- Start practicing in a room with no distractions, not even his favorite dog pal who might jump on him while playing.
How to teach your dog to descend: the decoy method
- Ask your dog to sit in front of you. If he is unfamiliar with this behavior, teach it to him first in a separate practice session.
- Hold a small piece of treat in front of his nose. Slowly move the treat to the floor. When he follows the treat, mark the desired behavior as “yes” and give him the reward.
Dog tip: Remain calm when marking the behavior. If you get too excited, chances are your dog will stand up.
- Repeat this several times. During each successive step, continue to bring the treat closer to the ground. If successful, praise and reward.
Dog tip: If your dog stands up, make sure you don’t move the treat too quickly, which will cause the behavior. Restart.
- If your dog is curling up instead of lying flat, move the treat slightly away from it once it hits the ground. It should feel like an “L” motion.
- When your dog is lying flat with elbows and hocks on the ground, praise and reward him.
dog board: Place the treat on the floor just between your dog’s paws. This keeps her lying down.
- Repeat these steps several times, always praising and rewarding your pup when he lays down on the floor.
- As you lure your dog from the sitting position, add the “down” signal. Praise and treat him when he lies down with his elbows on the ground. Do this several times.
- Dim the treat lure once your dog understands what is expected. Always use the hand motion, but have the treat hidden in your other hand behind your back. Mark the behavior and deal with it when it sets.
- Once your pup has successfully laid down without the treat lure, fade out the hand motion. Then, use only the verbal signal. Mix it after your dog understands what is expected. Sometimes use the verbal signal and the hand signal. Other times, use only the verbal signal or the hand signal.
- Use a random reinforcement schedule. Once your pup understands what you expect, treat less frequently. Do this slowly. You always want your puppy to be motivated. And don’t forget the praise.
Teaching this trick will often take more than one practice session. Don’t rush the process. It is very important that your dog understands what is expected before moving on.
What if my dog doesn’t want to lie down?
Don’t panic! Try tricking your dog into going under something like there’s a bridge and it’s limboing under it.
- Sit on the floor and bend your knee as if it were a bridge. Alternatively, lure your dog under a table or chair, as long as the furniture is stable and does not move, which could startle a dog.
- Then follow the steps above, enticing your dog with a delicious treat under the “bridge”. Always praise and reward him when he folds.
- Optionally, fade the bridge and the treat lure.
If your dog doesn’t want to attract attention, don’t despair. When you return from a walk or after a play session, have treats on hand and wait for your dog to lie down.
Start calmly rewarding the behavior. A rewarded behavior will be repeated. Then you can start adding a “low” signal when it goes down. Mark and reward behavior.
Next steps for teaching your dog to descend
After your dog lies down on your cue, start adding distractions. Ask someone to enter the room remotely. Do the trick in different places, on different surfaces and at different times of the day. Increase the distraction as your dog can handle it. The goal is for your puppy to generalize the behavior to other contexts.
Teaching your dog to lie down at the right time is a very useful behavior if you want to take your puppy to public places, especially with other dogs. Think of all the fun you’ll have together taking the show on the road!
