# How to teach a senior "down"



## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

Milly has never caught on to "down" she has sit mastered, and if we sit down (say when she comes to work, or when I was in college) she knew she was supposed to just lay quietly at my side, but it has always been on her terms. I've tried just about everything, but can't get her to do it on command.

Anyone have some ideas that might help? Or, should I just embrace the fact I have a lovely dog, and leave her to her ways?


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-to-teach-the-down-command/page1.aspx

Basically you start your dog in a sit, then hold a treat in your hand and bring it down to floor level. If your dog doesn't go down right away, move the treat away from your dog but still along the floor. Your dog should naturally be in a down position trying to follow the treat. Then give the treat of course! 

And you can couple this action with a hand signal. When I raise my hand over my head, Daisy knows that means down. She's very good with it. I don't even have to say "Down" anymore, I just raise my hand and she goes down.

This should be fairly easy. Just repeat the process until she gets it. And if she doesn't, for whatever reason, then absolutely leave her to her lovely ways


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Does she have any health issue that cause her pain to lay down or get back up? If not....go for it! It is good for her brain to learn something new!

Use really yummy food....some chicken or turkey or bit of hotdog or cheese....
Dog on leash...enough leash for the dog to sit or stand comfortably, but not enough to move around much...
Dog sitting or standing
Food in hand slowly draw an imaginary vertical line from her nose to the floor...then wait....if more then 6 or 7 seconds goes by entice her with another sniff and maybe even a quick lick...then repeat the line...
I dont chant down-down-down...I keep my mouth shut and let the dog figure out the puzzle...
If she just leans over and licks/nibbles....I personally just outwait them (as long as necessary)....eventually they will lay down...(they are on leash so they cant wander off)
If they are on leash so they cant back up or walk too far forward...it becomes more comfortable to laydown to get the treat....when their elbows are down on the floor...the treat is offered...

If it takes more then 10 minutes....then I wait a good half hour and try again....give them a break and some time to think about it....

When they get faster and faster then I wean off the leash...and start weaning off having the treat in my hand....


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## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks. I'll try these as soon as I get back home (on Sunday). In the meantime, I'm going to forward these responses to my boyfriend so he can start (he's the faithful dog sitter right now, which means Milly gets spoiled rotten). 

My next dog I'll do obedience classes with, but I've just sort of figured it out on my own with Milly. The first year I had her classes were offered at strange times in our town, and conflicted with my college class schedule. By then she had figured out most everything I wanted her to learn, but down has been a challenge. I'll let y'all know how it goes.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

What Jo Ellen said! Sort of. I never had to bring the treat to the ground.

I have a very different hand signal for down. I do have an "up" to a "sit" signal from "down."


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## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

She's almost got it! We're still using treats, and the first time she just sat really tall and started trying to "shake" with her paw. I think she had absolutely no clue what I was doing, so I coaxed her down physically while moving the treat from her nose to the ground. I only had to help her physically go down once, and now she's really starting to understand it! 

I feel like having a rescue is so much fun, but a challenge at times. Now she's pretty much very easy to train (she's very smart), but every now and then she decides she wants to be shy and not learn. When I first got her it took about a year just to get her used to me and know she won't be abandoned again.

I'm so proud of her!


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