“Lie Down” Doggy Training
By Jason Beachy
When you initially start working with your new puppy there are a few commands that you want to make sure that you start out to teach them. If you can teach them to lie down at early age to a signal or command it will improve the relationship between you and your puppy.
Put a buckle collar or nylon choke collar on your puppy and attach a leash to it. You will have your puppy sitting in front of you. In the left hand you will hold the leash short. In a quiet and firm tone give him the verbal command “Down”. Raise your hand so he can see it. This will signal the down signal to him as you will be pulling him down with the leash. Immediately you will want to place a treat between his paws as you praise and stroke him saying “Down, Good.” You will want to repeat this three times in a row, and in a happy tone of voice be praising him and giving him a treat each time.
It may be necessary in the beginning to bend over a little when you are giving the signal but later on as he gets more familiar with the exercises you can stand up straight to give the exercises. You will pull the leash down straight or slightly back from you when you pull the puppy down. You do not want to pull the leash in a downward manner toward you. The puppy will move forward and will move in between your feet. When he goes down he should be right where he was sitting with no forward motion.
He will probably go down by himself on the fourth try. You will want to be excited and in a very ecstatic tone of voice a tell him what a good boy he is as you give him his treat. When you give the “Down” signal you will want to make sure that your puppy is looking at the palm of your hand.
Your puppy will feel very special doing this exercise. You do not want him to crawl forward but make sure that he drops straight down when you give the command. Do these exercises several days in a row to make sure that he will learn to drop on either your hand signal or to your voice command. A week or two later you can start moving a few feet away from him and giving him the down command. You will continue gradually increasing the distance till you are around ten feet from him. Each time he drops you continue to run up to him and praise him and give him his reward in an enthusiastic manner.
You will now be working with him to lie down off leash after he is performing proficiently with your on leash training. You will continue to praise him excessively and give him his treat. It will work the best to train him to do the Down command in an indoor setting but as he is beginning to be more reliable you can move your training program outdoors. You will be able to start with Drop on Recall in several months but be sure not to move at a too rapid pace. You want your puppy to be willing and eager to do a straight Recall before you move on to a Drop on Recall.
Jason runs a website on different processes and procedures to train your dog or puppy. You will find an array of information and tips at his site at http://www.puppyanddogtraining.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Beachy
Leave a Reply