Teaching a Dog the "Down" Command

After the puppy has mastered "Sit" it is ready to advance to the command "Down." It is best to begin with your puppy dog in the "Sit" position and after placing one hand on your puppy's collar, hold a treat in front of your puppy's face with the other hand. Slowly begin moving the hand with the food reward downward to the floor. Your puppy will follow your hand down to the floor. Just before your puppy's chest touches the floor say "Down" and reward it. Repeat this process and once the puppy has it down well, start doing the practices without the food reward, until the puppy can perform the command without any food incentive. Never diminishing the amount of praise that you lavish on your dog every time it does something that you are asking of it. When your puppy has shown that it understands your command "Down" move your practice times somewhere with some distractions and the try out some practice sessions. If your puppy does well then you can continue progressing but if it doesn't do well then you will need to go back a couple of steps and reinforce the command from the beginning. Whenever your puppy overcomes new distractions and obeys the command try adding more distractions.

Tips on training puppies: How and what you teach your puppy depends largely on the amount of time and patience that you have. But regardless of how much or how little you teach your puppy there are some important basics that you must keep in mind. Probably the most important is to be sure and make it as easy for your puppy to be good and succeed as possible. Much of your puppy's ability to succeed rests with you as the trainer. If during a training session your dog becomes stuck on something it is best to change immediately to reviewing an action that your puppy had previously learnt and knows well. Never end a training session on a bad note. Also always try and end before your puppy gets bored or loses interest in what you are doing.