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How to teach a dog to lie down? Teaching your dog to lie down on commands can be helpful in certain situations. It is one of the great behavior to train your dog. Lying down is a basic command that helps you to keep your dog in control.
Knowing the right technique is one of the most important aspects to teach your dog this command. So, in this article, you will get to know the right technique that could help your dog to master this command. Here are the 5 simplest and easiest steps that will help you in teaching your dog to lie down.
Things That You Must Know
Before getting started with teaching lie down command, your dog should know how to sit on commands. It is important to teach your dog as it is the first step towards getting lie down. So, if your dog hasn’t learned it yet, click here to get help in teaching him the sitting command.
Try to get a new mat for teaching your dog to lie down. It will make training sessions comfier for your dog.
Also, have a lot of treats for training ready in your hand.
Steps To Teach Your Dog To Lie Down
Step 1
Keep a smelly treat in your hands and request your dog to sit. When he sits, allow him to smell the treat and gradually lure his nose down to between his front paws, make sure to keep touching the treat on your dog’s nose. If your dog stands up, start the process again and ask him to sit again.
Before getting lie down, there is a possibility that your dog will hover with his elbows off the floor for a while lying down. If he stays like this, stand him up and give it a try again. But this time you will have to give the treat when he completely lies down.
Step 2
Keep repeating the procedure till your dog is following the treat lure and getting lie down consistently. Now you have to take it a step further by going within the first step once more, but this time keep the treat in both hands. With one hand, bring your dog down and reward him with another hand.
Step 3
Now in this step, you will have to move your hand on the floor and say “down”. Here may your dog will only look at your hand without getting lie down. If you notice this, take a treat in the between of your thumb and palm and again start giving the sign of moving your hand on the floor. When your dog is down, reward him with the treat. Keep repeating it at least three times. When you are on the fourth repetition, use the same hand but don’t keep the treat in your this time. This will enable you to give the command without the food’s expectations.
Step 4
Once your dog gets comfortable with the signal of hands, you can try to lie down your dog with the voice cue only. You will have to say “Down”, wait for 3 seconds, give him a signal from your hand and reward him for lying down. Now repeat this process several times, increase the seconds between the voice cue and signal from hand till the dog can make the connection between two and reacts to only voice cue.
Step 5
Now your dog is able to lie down on the cue, start eliminating giving treat rewards but don’t eliminate praising. You should prioritize giving treat rewards for the faster downs, but don’t forget to give praise for the slower downs. When your dog starts lying down on the commands, you can give treats every time.
Be Patient While Teaching Your Dog Commands
When you are teaching your dog any basic command, just be patient and have a positive attitude.
A lot of dogs learn these techniques very fast than others, so you shouldn’t be comparing your dog with anyone else’s.
If you know the right procedure and are willing to put in enough time, any dog can learn any type of basic dog commands.
Always remember: Even when the context is used properly, learning “down”, “Stay” and “Sit” commands can be quite difficult for canines.
Conclusion
So, this was the article on “How to teach a dog to lie down“. Now I hope these 5 simplest steps will help you in teaching your dog to lie down. Teaching your dog basic commands is not rocket science, you just have to use the right technique and invest enough time.
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