Teaching Your Dog the “Down” Command

The “down” command is essential to dog obedience training.

Once you finish training the “sit” command, the usual next step is the “down” command. It’s good to continue the whole obedience training process without interruptions, so as soon as the dog will sit despite distractions, get started with the “down” command.

As you train your dog for the “down” command, you’re doing a few different things at once. Laying down is a submissive position, which means that by doing it, your dog is physically acknowledging you as the alpha.

Later in life, the “down” command, and the mental results of following it, will be useful in a lot of situations. It has a calming effect, which is good around new people, especially children. That same calming effect makes the “down” command a way to end your dog’s confusion in any new situation.

Rules for the Trainer: Teaching the “Down” Command

1. Start simple. Remember that you’re teaching your dog a new word and behavior.
2. As your dog masters each step, add distractions such as unfamiliar places.
3. Advanced training should include temptations to disobey you, like food or toys.

Method 1: Manipulate his body language.

Just like with the previous lesson, you can teach the “down” command by guiding him toward the floor.

1. Begin any kind of obedience training in a familiar, calm place with no distractions.
2. Give the “sit” command. With your dog sitting, produce a treat and wait as he sits a moment.
3. Put the treat in front of his nose and move it straight towards the ground slowly enough that he can keep watching and sniffing it.
4. As your dog starts to lower with the treat, say he’s a good boy (or girl.)
5. Once his belly is on the floor and his front legs are straight in front of him, give him the treat and praise him.

Repeat this over and over and over. Notice that you aren’t starting to use the verbal “down” command yet. Once the above steps are moving along swiftly and he’s laying down right away, pick a verbal command – one-word commands like “lay” or “down” work better than “lay down” – and stick with it forever.

Remember: Always praise your dog the instant he does what you want. The words “good dog!” should become a goal he recognizes and wants to earn.

1. Do a large number of repetitions, using the above steps, but issuing the “down” command as soon as your hand starts moving toward the floor.
2. Once you’ve repeated this enough times that he obeys more-or-less instantly, begin leaving the treat out of the equation.
3. Once he’ll obey the “down” command without a treat, continue repeating but skip the “sit” step. Have him lay from a standing position. Again, repeat this many times.
4. After that’s an obvious success, make it more difficult by trying the command in unfamiliar places, and with distractions.

Method 2: On a Leash

Some people prefer to use a leash during all obedience training, and I can understand that. Keep in mind that if your dog hates the leash, then using one for obedience training might make him more hesitant to obey you than he otherwise would be. But, with that said, I’ll go over the method that works better with some dogs than the above “down” command method.

1. Put on the dog’s collar and leash, and issue the “sit” command. Kneel down beside him.
2. Say your “down” command, then instantly start coaxing your dog physically towards the floor.
3. Gently tug the collar downward, repeating the “down” command.
4. Don’t use force; however, you might try physically moving his front legs forward.
5. Praise your dog every time he lowers even an inch on his own.
6. Once he’s fully laying down, heap praise on him in addition to any other reward.

As with the above method, once your dog obeys this method without hesitation, you’re ready to mix it up: Start from a standing position, don’t physically coax him, add distractions, etc.

Final Notes on Training for the “Down” Command

Remember: consistency, repetition, and instant praise for the right behavior.

Once you’re getting near-instant results with zero coaxing, it’s very easy to add another command that basically means “ok you can get up now.” “Ok,” or “up” are good. This will work its way into your training process when you’re working on increasing the amount of time your dog must follow the “down” command.

There’s plenty more to tell, and for anyone training a dog at home I strongly recommend the Complete Dog Training Package. It goes into extreme detail about how to adjust your obedience training steps and techniques based on your dog’s individual traits, and how to add more difficulty to really make every obedience training step completely firm in your dog’s mind.

Read about other dog training topics, or return to the obedience training section.