Teaching your dog "down."

[R. Miller]

Just wondering how you dog owners teach your pooch "down." My lanky 6 mo old is getting big, loves jumping up on me to say hello...I honestly don't mind it, but the bigger he gets, others might be bothered by it.

[fishroger]

My lab is 1 year old and was like that too. What helped is a good dog obedience class. Most areas have classes somewhere close by. A good instructor is very helpful and can show you some good tips. Mine still jumps up sometimes, havent worked with him much this winter, but he still knows the commands. Have a dog treat in your hand and when he starts obeying your commands , reward him. My dog will do anything for a treat

[LABS4ME]

Muskmil-

The best way I've found to teach 'Down', is to immediatley pinch down on their dew claws (or where they were) and command down - down - down until their front feet hit the floor. Pinch them all the way down and immediatley release the pinch as their feet hit the floor and comman "GOOD!". Positinve and negative stimuli. Negative pressure is given when they jump and gone when all four are on the floor. You'll also need to enlist the help of a few friends and / or family members to do the same. Then he'll have it firmly in his head to NOT jump on people...

You'll be surprised how well it works! It is not a good habit to have a dog jump up to greet you. It may not seem to bother you now, but eventually he'll do it at the wrong time (when you're walking on ice or, your hands are full and he knocks something free or, you're dressed up etc.) and then you'll be angry at him and he'll have zero idea why he's being punished and yelled at. It's been excepted all along and he'll not be able to decipher that this was not a good time to do it. Remeber they do not hold the power of reason...!

Also the majority of people do not appreciate a jumping dog... I love dogs, but it I myself do not like a dog that jumps up to greet me. Dogs that are allowed to develop that habit, do not differentiate between you and someone else... they'll jump up on everyone!

fishroger

I'm just throwing this out there... but you may want to back off training with treats. especially with an adult dog. He is obeying YOUR commands on HIS terms... ie: he gets HIS treat for listening... not listening when told to do something. If it's working well for you, then keep going forward with that technique... but I have see many dogs shoddily listen to commands because they were not getting their treats... I've also been hunting with guys that carry a pocket of treats so their dog will listen... especially on the "here" command. I find that totally backwards! They should listen because they were given a command! A pat on the head and a sincere "GOOD!" should be all that is needed. If they know that what they did made you happy, they should do it again! If they know what they did, did not make you happy, they should firmly understand that and will not do it again. again my 2 cents and what works for me may not work for you...

Good Luck!

Ken

[fishroger]

that works pretty good for me. Dont have to have a treat everytime, sometimes I just hold out my closed hand and he obeys. If they gets lots of repetition like anything else they start getting the right idea. Seems like if you slack off for a while they can get into old habits quick. The obedience class really helped too. It can take take a while if the dog is a hard head.

[R. Miller]

Thanks for the info. I've read a few articles in Gun Dog about teaching "down." The methods seemed a little hokey. I like the idea of firmly holding his paws and lowering him to the ground. I know he understands "down," as he listens right away if he stands up to look out the window, etc. I don't remember is being an issue with my brittanies. Clyde is just such a big old setter that when he reaches up to greet, he's almost at your face! Very loving dog, but this is something that I'm to start working on more starting today. Thanks!

[giwoyna5]

I use what Labs said in the past on training my dogs, works good. But when they just don't get it or especially when someone elses dog jumps on me: step on their back feet. They get down right now.

[Powerstroke]

I've had the same issue with my springer. It worked okay when he was younger, but the behavior really came under control once we introduced the e-collar to the mix. It allows me to provide light stimulation without having to grab at his paws. Sometimes thats not easy when he jumps on the couch or the counter. With the collar they learn that the stimulation stops when their feet hit the floor.

[Bowfin]

I've taught dogs not jump by lifting my knee when they jump. If they jump into your knee everytime, they are kept off balance and generally will stop after a short period of time. Its worked on the 3 labs I have had.

[Pyrex]

I had a trainer tell me the same thing Bowfin, also to just yell almost to scare them when you do that, mine did it two or three times, and thats all it took.

[Powerstroke]

I have also used the knee to the sternum technique on labs. My spring is half the size so it wasn't as effective, but it works for bigger dogs that you can use that move on.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Guys, I had a problem with my GSP mix jumping about 2 years ago. I used the technique labs4me mentioned and it worked allmost immediately.

This is a 120 lb dog that still thinks he's a puppy. The last thing I need is him jumping on people. Lab's way worked wonderfully.

[beaver11]

stepping on the back feet of my gsp worked for me

[Farmboy1]

 Originally Posted By: beaver11

stepping on the back feet of my gsp worked for me

Be careful if you are stepping on the dogs back feet. It is very easy to loose you balance and step down too hard an injure the dog.