Begin by leading the dog into the down position with a piece of food. Start with your dog in a sitting position. Hold a treat in front of his nose, then move it slowly down to the ground just between his front paws. Keep it there until he lays down. When he goes down, click and give him the treat. If the dog refuses to lie down, wait until he lowers himself even slightly, then click and treat. Repeat the lesson until the dog lays down smoothly and quickly when lured into position.
Once you can lure the dog into the down, start raising your criteria by holding the food a couple of inches off the ground and away from the dog's nose. Wait for the dog to offer the behavior of lying down, and click and treat when he does so. Some confusion at this point is normal; be patient and wait for a response.
After a little practice, begin giving a "down" command just before you present the treat to lead the dog down. And gradually, inch by inch, start holding your lure further up off the ground and further away from the dog's nose. The idea is to wean the dog off of the lure, so that he begins to respond to a simple downward sweep of your hand.
After a few weeks of practice, the dog should be responding to your verbal command, and your luring motion will have turned into a convenient hand signal! Pretty simple, huh?
- from K-9 Dog Training Resources
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This article assumes that you have a basic working knowledge of clicker training and you dog is conditioned to the clicker. If you need a clicker training primer before you begin, visit my clicker section and read the "introduction to clicker training" articles.
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