Down, STAY!

[Fiona]

Hi

Star has decided that he will sit, stay perfectly but when you try and get him in to a down stay position he will go down as long as you have a treat in your hand but once down he gets straight back up and won't go back down till you give him another treat!!! I have tried not using treats but he just looks at me as if to say YEAH RIGHT!

Any advice?

[Nicola]

Hmmm.

I assume he likes playing with toys? Perhaps you could sit or lay on the floor with him and play with him while he's down on the floor, eventually add the command 'down' to this and tell him to stay. Hopefully, eventually, when you put him in a 'down' he may associate with something good, like playing. Just a thought, could be worth a try, as long as he doesn't get too excited over the toy!

Good luck.

[Nicola]

The above could also apply to treats. If he'll sit and stay, but won't go down and stay, you could perhaps only give him treats when he's in a down stay, meaning that he'll only get the treat when he's in a down stay.

You could try just giving him praise for the sit stay.

[Janice]

That's exactly what Dale did
Once I was certain he understood the command I played with him in the garden and then told him to down, stay and refused to play or give him the ball until he did. It was a bit of a struggle.I also kept asking him to down for things he wanted like food.
I don't know if that's the right way to do it but it worked in the end.
_________________
Janice and Dale

[Nicola]

[John Thomson]

Try to look at this from the dogs point of view............by the sounds of things when he breaks the stay another treat appears?
You may inadvertently be teaching him he will get a reward when he gets up then goes down again............
just a thought..........
_________________
John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk

[Eleanor]

hi Fiona

if Star is not doing as you ask, try going back to re-learning the command from the beginning, or learning something completely new then going back to this later

don't get frustrated with him, it just doesn't work

remember to always end on a positive note and keep sessions short

have fun

Eleanor

[Fiona]

John that's exactly what has happened. He is far to clever for his own good

I gave it a try again over the weekend and he was a little better but it was tough, those big brown eyes are a killer!!!!

[John Thomson]

[Fiona]

Very funny! How does Marcella put up with it!?

[marcella]

[Fiona]

[John Thomson]

[Fiona]

You are either really daft or extremely brave!!!!

You going to let him get away with that one Marcella?!?

[Fiona]

You still alive John?!