How to Train a Dog to Lay Down

Today I wanna talk to you about how to train a dog to lay down. The reason for this post is that it will set the pace for you to train a dog to do other tricks such as roll over. Here is the story behind it… I’ve decided to write about this because I was at my buddy’s house and she had a Pomeranian who was doing the roll over trick. So I thought I would write about it but then realized that I don’t have a post on here about how to train a dog to lay down.

Once you’ve got the basic dog training commands like sit, stay etc, all taken care of, its time for some tricks. Learning how to train a dog to do tricks will help strengthen the bond between you and your dog and will also give your dog some confidence.

Once your have taught your dog to sit you can begin training your dog to lie down. It’s actually a fairly easy command for your dog to learn although I must admit it did take my Boxer dog a longer time to learn it.

How to Train a Dog to Lay Down

Here is a basic overview of how to train a dog to lay down. First begin by getting your dog to sit (see how to train a dog to sit). Give the “down” command and gently force his leg out in front towards you. Once your dog is in the down position give your dog a treat and praise him for a good job. You will probably notice that your dog will get pretty quickly in the beginning. This is normal so don’t be discouraged. Remember that learning how to train a dog to do anything takes some time.

Repeat the above steps several times a day in 3-5 minute sessions and your dog will catch on rather quickly. If they don’t I have another method to training a dog to lay down.

How to Train a Dog to Lay Down – Method 2

Bring a chair or a stool and have your dog sit in front of it. Go to the other side of the chair and show your dog that you have a treat. The idea here is that you are going to give your dog the treat but from under the chair. By passing the treat from under the chair you are actually going to train a dog to lay down. Again you have to give the down command while passing the treat so your dog will begin to understand the command.

Learning how to train a dog to lay down for longer periods of time is actually an extension of the actual commands. When you dog is in the “lay down” position continue to give her small treats and praise. This will prevent your dog from getting up as she will be busy eating the yummy treats.

Just like when you are training your dog to do anything, you should repeat this exercise in different places and with more distractions. I caution you to add these distractions only after you see that your dog has a firm grasp of the lay down command.

I must also stress that the key to learning how to train a dog to lay down is timing. You must give your dog the down command as soon as you see that he is about to lie down. If your dog is in the lay down position and you give the command then it won’t be effective. Also, I know that I’ve mentioned it before but I’ll say it again: if your dog hasn’t learned the sit command then it will be extremely difficult to train your dog to lay down.

Stay tuned for my post on how to train a dog to roll over which was the main reason I wrote this article on how to train a dog to lay down.

Berto