Down command

[MonicaTorres]

So im having a little trouble getting my dog to understand the down command, I'll lure her with a treat or tell her down as she's laying down on the ground and give her a treat, but i feel like she still doesn't get it when i give her the command! Any tips?

[Adrienne]

Hi Monica, 

The command "down" needs to be added only once the behavior becomes more fluent. It seems like you may be missing some steps since you're still luring with a treat and asking her to down on command. To get there, you have to follow the guidelines explained in the course that you can find here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/lie-down/

So to recap:

1) you first lure with a treat doing the imaginary "L" as shown in this demo video and you click/verbally mark and give a treat the moment the elbows touch the floor.  Repeat several times.

2) Next, you start fading the food lure. Basically, use the L-shaped hand movement to guide your dog into position as usual, but do so empty-handed (imagine you are holding an invisible lure) after having handled strong-scented treats. Your dog will probably still follow your hand, as it smells like food. The moment his elbows touch the floor, use your verbal marker or click the clicker and reward him with a treat you’ve kept hidden behind your back or in your treat bag/pocket. 

 

3) Now it's time to add the command "down. "Say “down,” then immediately perform the L-shaped hand motion (or if you refined it, just a downward hand movement as I do in the video) with an empty hand as practiced. The moment your dog’s elbows touch the floor, use your verbal marker or click the clicker and give him the treat. After several repetitions your dog should anticipate your next move and lie down when you say “down,” before you even begin the hand signal. Give him plenty of treats the first time this happens! From this point on you can try leaving out the hand signal entirely.

 

Just to clarify, in the video I say "hand gesture" to point out what I am doing, you don't have to therefore say "hand gesture". Just say down, followed by your hand gesture and click/verbally mark and reward.

I hope this helps!

Let me know if you need any further assistance!

Best,

Adrienne

[KatherineGlover]

Hello! I am very curious about the rationale for not introducing the verbal command sooner. It goes against my instincts as a former EFL teacher, and I would love to understand, if you have a chance to explain (or direct me if it's already written elsewhere). Thanks in advance!
Katherine

[Adrienne]

Hi Katherine.

Welcome to the forums,

Great question!

The reason for this is very simple and it relates to a dog's associative learning. If we start saying "down" when we are at the initial luring phase, the behavior is not yet established, there is no or very little muscle memory and things are rather sloppy. If we say it early then, there are risks the dog associates it with something that hasn't been perfected yet and things can get confusing. We therefore play it safe and introduce the verbal cue "down" only once the behavior is more fluent so the dog can associate that precise action with the behavior. So we therefore "name it when we get it."