How To Teach Your Dog The Command “Down”

It is very important to train your dog, making sure that he follows some basic basic rules for his education, such as making him come when you call him, making him go to the toilet where he needs to, etc. In this way you can live with him in harmony and tranquility.

In this article we will take care of making you reach another goal: to make your dog obey the TERRA command, so you will be able to make him feel comfortable when you are particularly busy, when you receive visits at home, or to prevent him from eating something he should not.

It is very important that your dog obeys the ground command, especially as it will be the unmistakable proof that yours is a very well-mannered dog and this will also say a lot about you as owners and as people. This way you will be absolutely sure that you can take your dog anywhere, because you will know that he will obey and stay calm when needed.

It is also a good way to spend time and do activities with your dog. Having your dog obey the ground command is the first step towards even more difficult commands. Little by little he will begin to get used to the orders you give him and will soon become a well trained dog.

It is advisable to start this type of training from an early age, to prevent the dog from developing bad habits.

Off to the lessons!

Let’s start by saying that you will need to arm yourself with a lot of patience and perseverance and above all do not expect your dog to understand everything the first time. It is necessary to reward him every time he does what we want, but you must not punish him if he cannot or does not do it, because he would not understand anything.

Seated Command

It is much simpler if you teach the dog the command SIT first, so take a pack of treats and a good dose of patience, a lot will depend on the age and breed of the dog. You have to choose a word to give the command, remember to always use the same word, because if you change it you will greatly complicate your dog’s task. Choose a monosyllable, a good option is the word “sit”.

Take the treat with your fingers and bring it close to your dog’s face, about an inch away, and try to get his attention. When the morsel has caught his attention, lift it up and say the command “sit”,  in this way he will associate it with the movement. When the dog sits down, give him the treat.

When you can get him to execute the command several times, you can try doing it without a tidbit. If the dog does not obey, apply light pressure on his back to sit down and say the word “sit”, continue until you are able to sit him down without your intervention.

Ground Command

When your dog has learned to sit without the tidbit, it is time to teach him the ground command. For this you will need the same things you used with the sit command: treats or biscuits and a good supply of patience.

Start by grabbing the morsel with your fingers and bringing it close to its muzzle, then lower your hand to the ground and say a word that expresses the command ground, for example “down”, but remember to always say the same word using a firm tone. Most likely you will not get any results the first few times, but by repeating the exercise several times, you will eventually reach your goal.

When he has obeyed the ground command and lies down, don’t forget to reward him with the treat. If when you are about to give it to him he gets up, withdraw him, repeat the earth command and give it to him only when he is actually lying down.

If you can’t get him to obey the ground command, you can try to help yourself with your hands, stretch his front legs, or have him lie down yourself, but don’t do it abruptly. You will see how in the end he will be able to associate the gesture of bringing the morsel to the ground with the ground command.

Then try to repeat the same exercise without using the morsel, therefore bringing only your hand to the ground and repeating the word that you will have associated with the earth command. Repeat this process until you can get him to lie down without using the treat or lowering your hand.

During the training, don’t forget to reward your dog, try not to let the sessions last for more than 10 minutes and don’t stress him. When you have finished the daily session, tell him that he was good and give him a little pampering, as always you will make him happy.