Lay?

[mcblondie]

Uh yeah i'm really new here.

And i cant figure out how to get my puppy oscar to lay down.

There are lots of threads for more complicated stuff.. and i just want to get my puppy to lay down.

He sits and i'm starting to clicker train him.

I have him sit and then put the treat to his nose, then to the floor and say "lay."

And he just kinda looks away..

So i nudge his front feet forward and have him lay down.

Clicker, treat, praise.

But he doesnt ever seem to get it...

Any advice?

[Andowen]

Uh yeah i'm really new here.

And i cant figure out how to get my puppy oscar to lay down.

There are lots of threads for more complicated stuff.. and i just want to get my puppy to lay down.

He sits and i'm starting to clicker train him.

I have him sit and then put the treat to his nose, then to the floor and say "lay."

And he just kinda looks away..

So i nudge his front feet forward and have him lay down.

Clicker, treat, praise.

But he doesnt ever seem to get it...

Any advice?

dont force him to do it. like nudging his feet forward, because that will send all kinds of messages to him, like you are putting him in the lay position then rewarding him, then he will only do if you put him there. you have to get a really really yummy treat, something that makes him drool from the smell, get him sitting, let him smell the treat and let him try to get at it. when he starts using his paws to dig at your hand then lower your hand to the ground. with luck he will still try digging at it, so move your hand slowly away from him, so he is digging and stratching at the same time. as soon as his chest hits the floor, click, food and heaps of praise. just make sure you have him wanting that treat really bad. hope this helps good luck.

[DeltaCharlie]

Charlie was a pain to try to teach a drop to. He lies down front legs first which meant luring him from a sit didn't work and I had to just wait around until he got bored with me and did it himself. Click and lotsa praise, then wait around for another few minutes until he did it again. Took me an entire day but we got there eventually lol.

Another way that people use for puppies (Charlie was too big) is to sit on the floor with your knees bent at about shoulder height for the dog. Lure the dog underneath, it will have to go into a drop position to enable it to crawl under. Click as soon as it gets into the drop and it will get the idea pretty quick.

[whatevah]

Why don't you just wait for the dog to offer a drop. Then click and treat. Just sit on a chair and read a book or whatever, because the dog cannot stay standing forever. Ignore everything else it does and don't say anything. Once the dog has dropped, then throw the treat so the dog has to get up again and get it, then wait for the drop again. Once the dog is doing it well add the word. Here is Tia as a puppy going to her mat and lying down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncPaawvB29E

[cccq.cavaliers]

Have you tried going from a stand?

Start with him standing, then use a treat and put in front of his nose... when he is focussed on the treat, move it down and in - so towards his front feet.

His head should go down to follow the treat - he will then go into a "Bow" position and if you hold the treat a bit longer - his bum should follow.

If he is persistant and will not go down - give a GENTLE push downwards on his shoulders, then once in the bow position you should be able to lightly push his bum down and it will follow.

IMO this also produces a nice square shaped drop from the very beginning - so reduces the need to "shape" later on.

Images added to try and help explain the "Between the feet" luring and what the bow position would be like.

Images kindly borrowed from Google search

Edited March 30, 2008 by cccq.cavaliers

[Rysup]

Years ago I was training a Kees who was clueless about downs. So at training one night, they had me doing downs under a chair. He had no choice but to go down on the ground otherwise he wouldnt fit. It worked, he got the idea pretty fast!