{"id":3303,"date":"2021-01-29T12:30:08","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T17:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.us\/?p=3303"},"modified":"2023-10-17T05:10:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T09:10:35","slug":"teaching-a-dog-to-lie-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/teaching-a-dog-to-lie-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching a dog to lie down"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are looking to learn how to teach a dog to lay down, this technique is a fundamental and useful command that can help with their overall obedience and behavior, so it\u2019s an incredible trick to have under your sleeve. While teaching a dog to lie down, it can take patience and persistence and usually happens once you have mastered \u201csit\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">worth having a think about the precise word you\u2019ll use for this command as explained in the video below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Teaching &quot;Down&quot;\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bL_WUGNrKyY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s important to remember that your dog may associate the word \u2018down\u2019 with getting off the bed or sofa and this can become confusing for them, this is why it is so important to establish what command you will use. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Here&#8217;s a step-by-step guide on how to teach a dog to lay down:<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Choose the Right Time and Place:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pick a quiet and distraction-free area for training. A calm environment will help your dog focus better.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Use Treats and Rewards:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Positive reinforcement is key to training. Prepare some small, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/uk\/brand\/coachies\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tasty treats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that your dog loves. You can also use a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/uk\/brand-product\/coachi-dog-training-clicker\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">clicker<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if you&#8217;re familiar with clicker training. This is the most productive way to teach a dog to lay down.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Basic Positioning:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start with your dog in a sitting position. Stand in front of them, holding a treat in your hand.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Lure Technique:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hold the treat close to your dog&#8217;s nose and then gradually move it towards the ground, right between their front paws. As you do this, say the command &#8220;Down&#8221; or &#8220;Lie Down&#8221; in a calm and clear tone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Guide the Dog:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your dog might initially follow the treat with their head, but as you lower the treat, their natural response should be to lower their body to the ground. As their body starts to go down, move the treat slowly towards their paws, between their front legs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Reward the Behavior:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As soon as your dog&#8217;s elbows touch the ground and they are in the lying down position, praise them excitedly with phrases like &#8220;Good!&#8221; or &#8220;yes!&#8221; and immediately give them the treat.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Repeat and Practice:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice this several times in short sessions. Remember to keep the sessions positive and upbeat, using treats and encouragement as rewards. Be patient and give your dog time to understand the command.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Add Duration:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once your dog starts consistently lying down when you lure them, start to increase the duration they stay in the down position before giving the treat. This will help them associate the command with the behavior.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Add the Verbal Cue:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As your dog becomes more familiar with the command, add the verbal cue (&#8220;Down&#8221; or &#8220;Lie Down&#8221;) just before you start luring them into the position. Over time, they will associate the command with the action.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Generalization:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practise the command in different environments and situations to help your dog understand that the command applies everywhere.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Gradual Fading of Treats:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As your dog becomes more consistent with the behavior, start reducing the frequency of treats. Transition to giving treats intermittently while still using praise as a reward.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, every dog learns at their own pace, so be patient and positive throughout the training process. If your dog seems to be struggling or gets frustrated, take a step back and break the training into smaller, more manageable steps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are looking to learn how to teach a dog to lay down, this technique is a fundamental and useful command that can help with their overall obedience and behavior, so it\u2019s an incredible trick to have under your sleeve. While teaching a dog to lie down, it can take patience and persistence and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3303"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19807,"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3303\/revisions\/19807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/companyofanimals.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}