Puppy Training - Teaching Your Dog To Lie Down

One of the most useful puppy training commands you can teach your dog is "lie down". This simple exercise will prove it's worth many times over during the course of the day. It's even great while traveling in a car if you want your puppy to remain seated rather than walking around and possibly causing a distraction. And the earlier you start this training, the easier it will be for your pet to learn.

To begin this puppy training, have a nylon choke or buckle collar on your pet and attach a short leash to it. Have your pet "sit" while you stand directly in front of him. Hold the leash short in your left hand as you give the verbal command "down". Say it quietly but firm. Also give him the "down" hand signal by raising your right hand where he can see it as you pull him down with the leash. Quickly place a treat between his paws as you stroke him saying "Down good. Down good." Try this 3 more times. Make sure you give him a treat each time and praise him in a happy tone.

By the fourth time you try he will likely go down by himself. Be excited! Tell him what a good dog he is. Give him a treat. But make sure that your puppy looks at the palm of your hand when you give him the down signal.

By doing this your pup will feel very special. But for this puppy training to be effective, make sure he doesn't crawl forward but drops straight down. Repeat this exercise several times the first few days so he will learn to drop on either your voice or the hand signal. After about a week, try giving him the "down" command a few feet from you. Gradually increase the distance until you are about ten feet from him. It is important that you run up each time he drops to praise him and give him his treat reward.

Once you have accomplished this, try training him off leash, but continue to give lots of praise and a treat. It's best to start this puppy training indoors. Once he becomes reliable, move outdoors.

As you start this puppy training, it will be necessary to bend over a little as you give the hand signal. Once he knows the exercise, you can stand up straight and give the signal. When you pull the puppy down, you should pull the leash either straight down or slightly back away from you. If you pull it toward you, he will move forward. You do not want this or he will crawl between your feet. He should go down exactly where he is sitting without moving forward.

For the best dog training information all in one place we highly recommend Daniel Stevens' SitStayFetch. As we have said before, some of his methods are a bit different than ours, but we know them to be highly effective. As with almost anything, there is more than one way to accomplish your goal. And the SitStayFetch ebook is tops on our list. Best of all, you can have it in your hands in minutes because it is instantly downloadable on your computer. Check it out now.