How do you train your dog to lay down?Any training tips?
I have a 2 year old chocolate lab.he is a crazy but eager to please dog.I need training tips!!
Easy Dog Training | Dog Behavioral Problems | Obedience Training
How to Get Your Dog to Learn Good Habits
I would recommend taking him for a long run or playing hide and seek for a while. Then, when he is tired out and looks like he could just flop down and sleep for the next week and a half, take a treat and lure his nose down towards the floor. Draw the treat away from him if all he does is sniff it excitedly, and an encouraging hand pushing down on his rump wouldn’t hurt either.
That’s the lure method. It will in time teach him to lie down as you add the cue (the word that means "lie down" such as "DOWN" or "DROP"), but it will take longer since he’ll just be thinking about the treat and not what he is doing. Here is a clicker method that takes more patience, but will actually work faster and get him to think.
If he’s not trained to the clicker, train him to it. A smart dog like him shouldn’t take more than three or four days. Look up "charging the mark dog clicker" for more info on this. Now play with him as described above until he is tired, then get out your clicker and some treats. When he lies down BY HIMSELF, click and jackpot – meaning give him four or five treats, one at a time, praising enthusiastically. The purpose of the jackpot is to really bang it into his head, "YES! THAT WAS CORRECT!" Don’t jackpot every time – it’s supposed to be like a nice surprise that he gets every once in a while.
When he consistently lies down for you when he sees the clicker or treats, start adding in the cue. Say "down" (or your chosen cue) as he lies down, then click and treat as usual. Continue with this, saying the cue increasingly earlier, until he will lie down on cue. And there you go!
Remember to train with distractions once he has learned the behavior and correct him for disobeying by putting your foot on the leash and pulling his head down sharply. If he can lie down under distraction, you can be certain he knows the command.
Best of luck!
The best way is to get him to sit, then have a treat in your hand, put your hand next to his nose, and slowly pull forward and down while telling him to lie down. That’s the most common way I’ve ever heard.
Slowly start lowering your hand to the ground when the paw at it gently push their backs down or take their paws and lightly and gently tug down and reward afterwards
When your dog is standing, take a treat and push it towards him, under his chest. He will have to lay down to get the treat. If he just backs up to get the treat, do it with his back against a wall, but most dogs will lay down to get it.
A lot of basic training can be accomplished by the lure-reward method.
The lure is a treat in your hand that you let the dog sniff, and then you give the command you’re working on, and then move your hand in a way such that the dog, in trying to keep its nose near the treat, moves itself into the body position you want. Once the dog is in the position you want, give a treat reward (preferably not the one from the lure hand, because ultimately you’ll want them to do the trick even if you don’t have food in your hand as a lure, and don’t give treat rewards on every trial).
For sitting, lift the treat slightly up and behind his head until his butt hits the floor.
For laying down, give the command, then simply move your hand in a fist from the dogs nose to the floor. Your dog may spend some time trying to pry open your hand, etc, but he will eventually be flat on the floor, and that’s when you deliver a treat.