"Get down" is a simple action, but it can have a big impact. Not only can it become an introductory skill for teaching more complex movements (such as turning over), it can also prompt your dog to settle and relax in a busy situation, and stop them in an emergency. The good news is that this is a very simple teaching tip—it's just a question of using positive reinforcement to encourage your dog's natural behavior.
Let your dog what you want to teach
Some pre-planning is required before starting training to avoid confusing your dog while strengthening the behavior you want Or trip.
Choose your prompt words before starting. Consistency is everything, and anyone working with your dog needs to use the same tips. It should be simple and you will not use it with your dog in other ways. For example, if you use "go away" to get them off the sofa, you can't use "go away" to lie down. Your dog will not understand what you want. Remember, "Close" is not the same as "Close".
Preparing reward items for training dogs
For this type of training, you really only need to prepare three things:
snacks . Because you may end up offering a variety of snacks throughout the training process, try low-calorie snacks and make sure to take into account any additional snack calorie daily food needs of your dog.
snack bag or plastic bag.You can use designated snack bags, pockets or other containers. As long as your snacks are easy to access and can be taken with you, you are all set.
A password that you don’t think is circumstantial . Your password is a way for you to tell your dog what they did right and help your training be accurate and clear to them. Password is a commonly used token in dog training. If you don't want to use a password, just use the word "good" (it works the same way). The moment your dog is lying down, you will click or say "OK". Then you will give hospitality. Finish it in the right time and your dog will quickly understand that get down = get down (or better) = reward.
Start by letting the dog sit
Hold the snack tightly, and your dog can recognize it when it smells the snack.
Slowly move your hand from the dog's nose to the ground. Your dog will most likely follow your hand with their head. This is called "baiting" your dog.
Then pull your snack hand along the ground, away from your dog's nose. Think of it as drawing a large L from their nose to the ground, and then moving away from them along the ground. This will prompt them to follow, move their bodies closer to the ground and bend their elbows.
Once their elbow touches the floor, they will be rewarded.
Repeat this process until your dog follows the reward easily and quickly. This is where you can start adding password hints.
Say "get down" (or any verbal prompt of your choice) and then lure your dog into position. Give rewards after being seated
After a few times, start to make your rewards smaller and smaller.As long as your dog continues to associate prompts with actions, you can continue to reduce the use of rewards.
When your dog lay down according to the prompts without a reward, you did it! Continue to practice the action-password-reward sequence to strengthen the behavior. If your dog hasn't fully learned it yet, keep working hard.
Over time, you can start to remove snacks from the process. This should be done gradually like using rewards. You can even replace rewards with rewards for praise and play.
To lure your dog down from standing, you need to change the angle of the bait. When your dog is standing, put the snack in front of their nose, and then slowly move your hand from their nose down and slightly inward to the ground between their front paws. This movement helps them fold forward instead of sitting down first. When their forelimbs touch the floor, use the password.
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