Teaching your dog to lie down with an order will help him develop self-control and will be very useful in the day to day with your pet. Remember that this is a difficult exercise to teach all dogs, as it puts them in a vulnerable position. Therefore, you must have a lot of patience when training your dog to lie down with an order.
The last criterion you must meet is that your dog should lie down with an order and hold that position for a second. To achieve this training criterion, you must divide the exercise into several simpler criteria.
- We tell you the training criteria that you will be working on in this exercise: your dog goes to bed when you make a signal; Your dog goes to bed for a second Your dog goes to bed even when you are on the move.
- Your dog stays in bed for a second.
- Even if you’re on the move.
- And your dog goes to bed with a warrant.
- Remember that you must train in a quiet.
- Closed place without distractions until you reach all the training criteria proposed.
- Continue reading this Animal Expert article and learn how to teach the dog to bed.
Bring a small piece of food to your dog’s nose and slowly lower your hand to the ground between your pet’s front legs. Following the food, your dog will lower his head, then his shoulders and finally go to bed.
When your dog goes to bed, click and feed it. You can feed him while he’s still lying down or have him get up to pick it up, like in the photo sequence. It doesn’t matter if your dog gets up after clicking. Repeat this procedure until your dog folds easily every time you guide it with food. From this point, gradually reduce the movement you make with your arm, until it is enough to extend the arm downwards to bend. This can take several sessions.
When lowering your arm is enough for your dog to lie down, practice this sign without holding food. Every time your dog goes to bed, click, take a piece of food out of your pocket or pocket and give it to your pet. Remember that some dogs hesitate to lie down just to follow a piece of food; therefore, be very patient with this exercise. This can take several sessions.
Also remember that some dogs go to bed more easily when seated, while others go to bed more easily when they are still. If you need to sit your dog down to practice this exercise, do so by guiding him as he does to practice sitting. Do not use the command to sit with your dog. When you withdraw with the signal (no food in your hand) for 8 out of every 10 repetitions for two consecutive sessions, you can switch to the next training criterion.
If you want your dog to learn to stand, as required in some canine sports, you must include this criterion as soon as you stretch it. To do this, you’ll only reinforce behaviors close to what you want.
However, remember that this cannot be required of a puppy or small dog whose morphology makes it difficult to lie on their feet. It may also not be necessary for dogs with back, elbow, knee or hip problems. Training your dog to stand up is another criterion; therefore, it will take you longer to get the desired behavior.
Have your dog sleep with the sign, without food in your hand. When you go to bed, mentally count “one.” If your dog holds the position until you’re done counting, click, take a piece of food out of your pocket and give it to them. If your dog gets up while you’re counting “one,” take a few steps without clicking or feeding it (ignore it for a few seconds). Then repeat the procedure.
If necessary, use shorter intervals, mentally counting “u” instead of “one” during certain repetitions. Then try to increase the time your dog is lying down until it mentally counts ‘one’. You can do 2 or 3 repetitions of the above criterion before starting sessions of this training criterion.
Perform the same procedure as the first criterion, but jog or walk on the ground. It also changes its position relative to your dog: sometimes sideways, sometimes in front, sometimes diagonally. At this point, you should also make sure your dog is in different locations on the training site.
You can do some repetitions without moving before starting each session of this canine training criterion. You can also hold the food in your hand and make the full move, lowering your hand to the ground for the first 5 (approximately) repetitions of the first session, to help your dog generalize the behavior.
Perform the same procedure as the second criterion, but jog or walk in place, telling your dog to lie down. You can do 2 or 3 repetitions of Criterion 1 before starting each session, so your pet knows it’s a lying session.
Switch to the next criterion when you achieve an 80% success rate in 2 consecutive sessions.
Say “lie down” and wave your dog with your arm to lie down. When you lie down, click, take a piece of food out of your pocket and give it to it. Repeat several times until your dog starts to lie down when you give him the order, before reporting it. From this point on, gradually reduce the signal you make with your arm until it is completely removed.
If your dog goes to bed before giving the order, just say “no” or “ah” (use any, but always the same word to indicate that you won’t receive the piece of food) in a quiet tone and give it some no. Then give the order before your dog goes to bed.
When your dog associates the “coat” command with the lying behavior, repeat criteria 2, 3, and 4, but use the verbal command instead of the arm signal.
In the following video we offer more tips for anyone who wants to know how to teach the dog to sleep:
If your dog is distracted during training, try practicing somewhere else where there are no distractions. You can also do a quick sequence by giving you 5 pieces of food before the start of the session.
If your dog hurts when you feed it, start by giving it to the palm of your hand or throw it on the ground. If it hurts when you’re guided through food, you’ll need to monitor your behavior. In the next section, you’ll see how to do it.
Many dogs do not sleep with this procedure because they do not want to put themselves in a vulnerable position. Others don’t go to bed simply because they try to adopt other food-making behaviors. If your dog does not lie down when guiding him with food, consider:
When you teach your dog this exercise, make sure it’s not on an uncomfortable surface. Very hot or very cold surfaces can prevent the dog from going to bed, so make sure the ground temperature is not too high (just touch it with the back of your hand to check the temperature).
If you want to read articles similar to, we recommend that you go to our Advanced Training section.