STEP-BY-STEP DOWN-STAY CLASS
The Balanced Way to Keep Your Dog Happy and Comfortable When You’re Not Playing
The Balanced Way to Keep Your Dog Happy and Comfortable When You’re Not Playing
The Down-stay Allows You to Bring Your Dog Along
In this exercise, you will teach your dog to lie down on command and stay there in any situation. It builds on the thirty-minute stay but takes your dog off her comfortable bed and into more challenging settings. Once she has mastered this skill, your dog will behave well in most situations. You’ll be able to keep her in control and out of harm’s way. We do the “down” training first and then work on the “stay.”
There will be important times when you need your dog to stay out of the way and be easy-going especially in crowded places like train stations or an outdoor café. With the “down-stay”, you can put your dog where you want and out of harm’s way. This skill allows your dog to join in many adventures from barbecues and camping to parties and dog-friendly stores and restaurants.
The Down Training for Good Dogs
Start in the heeling position (see page 21) with the dog on your left, and you both facing the same direction.
Say, “Stay,” and give the hand signal.
Step with your right foot, pivoting on your left foot so your left leg is in line with your dog, and you are now facing the dog. Do this slowly to keep the dog calm. Put all the leash in the right hand with mild tension, i.e. shorten the leash.
Number of Repetitions Each Day: Do this everyday, three to five repetitions lasting about 10 minutes.
How Many Days to Train the Average Dog: In two to four days, you can get your dog to lie down on command; the stay training time takes a lot of repetitions and varies widely by the dog.
You should use the same leash and collar setup you use for the heeling class.
Bring your left arm up with your hand over your dog’s head.
Bring your hand down slowly in front of the dog’s face. This is the down stay hand signal.
As you do this, you pull firmly but slowly on the leash in a downward motion, like you were pulling the dog into the down position.
Tip: If your dog resists, make sure you do not give in or give up. You need to follow through putting them in the down position. Don’t be afraid to use some muscle to get your dog lying down. You may need to overpower your dog to position her into the down for the first couple of times. Be gentle but firm.
When your hand comes down, and you are doing the down sign, you want to catch your dog’s leash on the way down and pull it in a smooth stroke. Also, if your dog isn’t going down, you’ll want to take your dog’s paws in your hand so she will be forced to lie down.
Gently stroke her and tell her she is a good dog. She can get up right away. Repeat three to five times per session.
You might need to pull your dog’s front legs out to do this. Use your hand to pull the front legs forward so she has no choice but to go into the “down”.
After you’ve done this for three days, three to five times a day, start on the “stay” exercises. You can tell if your dog is ready for the next step because she will start to go down more easily. With some dogs, you may still have to press them into the down, but it should be done with the leash pressure alone.
Tip: Be sure to praise them as soon as they get all the way into the “down” position. You don’t want to praise them when they are still off the ground, but also want to give them encouragement before they have a chance to jump back up.
The Stay Training for Good Dogs
Repeat the down class. When your dog lies down, give them the “stay” hand sign, which is a flat hand signal in front of their face and say, “Stay,” in a low calm tone.
Then put your left foot on the leash as close to the buckle as you can without tugging on the dog. Don’t put your foot directly on the buckle because it may come undone.
Stand there and keep telling them to stay.
For the first time, keep the dog down for 15 seconds. Then build up over three to five days until you have a five-minute down stay. You can bring something to read. It’s nice to find a private spot for this so people don’t give you funny looks.
Tip: Make sure your foot is firmly planted on the leash, and your dog can’t pull any of the leash out. You can expect the dog to struggle a bit here, but be strong or she won’t quickly learn to stay calm and comfortable in the “down” position.
Once she becomes steadier and steadier, you can start to walk around her to test her stay. If she starts to get up, say, “No!” and put her back in the down. Try to catch her before she gets up. You might say, “Ut, ut! Stay,” if you suspect she’s going to try to move.
You can tell if your dog is relaxing if she is lying on a hind quarter instead of a Sphinx like upright position, which makes them ready to pop up. Once the dog seems more relaxed you can start walking around.
Start walking away from them slowly towards the end of the leash and keep saying, “stay,” and using the hand signal.
Once you get to the end of the leash...
praise them and use your release word, “Take a break.”
As you keep your dog in the down stay for longer and longer, try different things, like walking behind her or petting her so she gets used to staying in whatever situation might arise.
