[Myname5james]

My dog, Barney, takes to learning tricks pretty successfully… with one exception. I cannot train him to lie down.

We’ve been practicing like this:
1. I’ll tell Barney to sit, then reward him with a treat.
2. I hold a second treat in front of Barney’s nose so that he tries to nibble the treat.
3. I slowly lower the treat towards the ground and slightly away from him. All the while, his head is following the treat’s descent to the ground.

The attempt to lure him to the ground doesn’t work though. He typically pops his butt off the ground and stands to try to get the treat.

Since he’s a big dog, I’ve tried practicing the trick on wood floors, hoping he would slide into position—no luck. I’ve tried on carpeted surfaces with same results. I’ve tried different treat options with no change.

Does anyone have any other techniques to get their dog to lie down?

[Gus Gus]

I had the same problem. My trainer recommended rewarding my dog whenever he chose to lie down as a training method. So, you’re sitting on the couch and Barney lies down next to you… treat. You’re waiting in line at the pet store and he lies down… treat. Give it a try.

[Myname5james]

We had a breakthrough! I learned that if I keep my palm flat facing up and hold the treat between my thumb and pointer finger while lowering my hand to the ground, Barney will follow the treat to the floor. After doing this five or so times in a row, I transitioned by keeping the treat in the same position but curling all of my fingers except the pointer finger and lowering my hand again. From there, I was able to flip my hand over while moving it to the ground, so that I was pointing to the ground while the treat lowered. Now, I can touch the ground with my finger point and Barney will lie down. I am working on being able to just point down instead of touching the floor. I used this video on YouTube to get the technique down. So helpful!

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