Chihuahua won’t “down” on hard surfaces

[NyahParekh]

Hello! I recently rescued a 9 month old chihuahua puppy and it was apparent she’s had 0 training and was not even housebroken. She was incredibly scared and did not trust me one bit but has come a long way with that and her training! She’s very intelligent and eager to learn and i’ve been able to teach her “sit” “stay” “down” “no” and “quiet” and crate trained in just 2 weeks which amazed me!! The only problem i’ve had is that she won’t listen to the “down” command on any hard surfaces which is a problem if we’re invited to dinner or situations where she’s overly excited and needs to “down” for a bit but there’s no couch or bed for her to lay down on. Do you know any solution for this? Is it common for chihuahuas not to lay down on hard surfaces?

[NyahParekh]

It’s not just the command either she just refuses to settle down on any floor ever. I had to even teach her “sit” on a couch first. I’m not sure if it’s a psychological thing because she slept on the floor in the shelter or if it’s something else. 

[Adrienne]

Hello! Lots of Chihuahua members lately on the forums!

I am thrilled to hear that your lovely Chi has come a long way with her training! Kudos to you! 

With small dogs this behavior isn't unusual. In particular, Chihuahuas are warm-climate dogs with a single coat (unless you have the long hair variety) so they may find placing their belly on a cold tile floor unpleasant. She likely slept on the floor in the shelter because she had no other choice, now that your home has comfy couches, she'll stick to those. 

You can try practicing on a carpeted area or rug and see if that helps. 

Or if you need her to hold a longer down when you have guests, you can get a mat and train her to hold a long down there. Here is a guide on mat training:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

Initially, before she learns to hold a long down, as a management strategy, you can use an indoor tether.  To install a tether, you would need to screw an eye-bolt into something sturdy enough to withstand your dog if she manages to pull with her full weight (like screwed to a beam, wall) in the same room, but at a distance from where the guests are so she cannot come near the table. You then attach one clasp of the tether to the eye bolt and the other to the back clip of a harness your dog is wearing. Keep the mat near her and praise/reward for going on it. 

Or you can use the tether to loop around some heavy piece of furniture. Make sure it's sturdy but won't fall or collapse on her or move startling her. Provide your dog with something to keep busy like a stuffed Kong or some safe long-lasting chew. Young dogs tend to get bored and frustrated quickly so giving them something to chew/vent can help. Always supervise a dog when tethered. 

Keep me posted on how it goes. 

Happy training!

Adrienne 

 

 

 

[NyahParekh]

Thanks for the tip i’ll definitely try the mat idea! I never thought about it like it could be uncomfortable for her stomach on the cold floor so that made so much sense haha. I guess until we get a mat she will continue “down” on the bed and the sofa 😂

[Adrienne]

Awww, that's so cute! She looks so happy and eager to be trained!

As the weather gets warmer, there may be chances that she starts enjoying the sensation of cold floors on the tummy. If you see that happen, you have the opportunity for reinforcing downs on hard floors.

Also, as she feels more confident and associates downs with tasty treats over time, she may start feeling that it may be worthy lying down on the floor even if she may have felt differently before so it may also be worthy trying to gradually wean her from the couch, to a mat on the floor, then to a thick blanket on floor, then to a thin sheet on the floor, and then finally on the bare floor next to the sheet (you can start gradually like a little to the side of the sheet, then a little more out, and so forth). 

A little tip: try to ask for downs when your dog is paying attention, in an area free or distractions and your dog looks attentive to you. When we repeat the cue several times and the dog doesn't respond, we risk the dog thinking that the cue is "down, down, down" and no longer "down" so the dog may start to ignore our first requests.

I don't know at what exact stage you are in training down, but once your dog is fluent in performing the movement, it would be time to start keeping the treat out of sight. Hide it in one hand, out of sight, like hidden behind your back. You can use your other hand to gesture her to down pretending you have a treat in it, if you have been doing that. Then once she does the down, praise and reward quickly delivering the treat from your other hand. 

You can find the process mentioned here:

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

And also here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training/fading-food-lures

I love your enthusiasm and how your dog responds to it!