I'm trying to train her to lie down. I taught her how to sit in 5 to 10 minutes using a leash, but she's too stupid to comprehend down. I put her on a leash, either present or not present food, say down, down, DOWN, gently lay her down on stomach, say good dog, and give food. I've done this at least 50 times and it's getting really frustrating. Are all dogs this dumb? The first time we go through the training, I'll tell her to sit, which she does, and then go through the steps of teaching her down. Once I give her the food, she gets up, but stays in sitting position. I have a feeling she doesn't even realize that I'm trying to teach her something new. In other words, she thinks I'm rewarding her for sitting.
My puppy is sooo stupid
- Thread starter Zen Fox
- Start date
I am sorry I have to differ with you. I have never met a stupid dog. First of all, how old and what breed is she ? From your post it's evident that you are frustrated and you can't teach a dog when you are in that state of mind. Second, from your description, that's not the way to teach a dog to lie down.
I taught my GSD to down at the age of 11 weeks. That's how I did it:
1. Have her sit .... which she does and it's a good thing.
2. Hold a piece of treat between your fingers and palm facing down.
3. Bring the treat close to her nose, palm still facing down, and slowly lower the treat to the floor between her paws and little bit to the front saying "Misha [ her name ] down".
She will have to go down to get the treat ... give it ot her once she is in position and not a second latter and of course don't forget the praise ..."Good dog .... good girl .... yes you are a good girl" in a happy voice
If she stands up, have her sit again and repeat the process.
Please be patient with her .... dogs are very intelligent animals. She will feel your frustration and that will cause her to fail. Be relaxed and watch your tone when you are training.
http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/training2.html
Good luck
I remember years ago when training my GSD (now at the bridge), getting him to do the "down" or drop as we used back then, was for some reason the hardest one to get him to master. Once he did it, he was fine.
But I have to agree with the others. It's harsh saying your pup is dumb or s tupid. If you are feeling or thinking that way about her, then she will pick up on it.
They are definately not stupid.
Patience and perseverance, and you will both get there
Good luck
But I have to agree with the others. It's harsh saying your pup is dumb or s tupid. If you are feeling or thinking that way about her, then she will pick up on it.
They are definately not stupid.
Patience and perseverance, and you will both get there
Good luck
Dogs are very sensitive to body posture, minute facial expressions and tones of voice as well. Even if you are not raising your voice, there will be a tone of frustration in there and I bet your puppy is picking up on it. Goldens are notorious for wanting to please and being decently easy to train, hence the reason so many of them are service dogs.
The main thing I picked out of your post is that A) You are repeating the command too many times. The dog is going to learn to wait for that third DOWN in a slightly different tone of voice. Say "down" and try and lure her. Sometimes applying a bit of downward pressure to just behind her shoulder blades will help her to understand. If it doesn't work, tell her "no" or "ah-ah" and try again. B) You are just a hair off on your rewarding. Give the treat to her immediatly, as soon as her belly hits the floor. She may pop right back up. At first, this is ok. You are just teaching her the basics. But once it appears that she knows the command, increase the time she has to stay in that position before giving her the treat. Again, if she pops up too quickly (later on) say "no" or "ah-ah" and put her in it again.
The main thing I picked out of your post is that A) You are repeating the command too many times. The dog is going to learn to wait for that third DOWN in a slightly different tone of voice. Say "down" and try and lure her. Sometimes applying a bit of downward pressure to just behind her shoulder blades will help her to understand. If it doesn't work, tell her "no" or "ah-ah" and try again. B) You are just a hair off on your rewarding. Give the treat to her immediatly, as soon as her belly hits the floor. She may pop right back up. At first, this is ok. You are just teaching her the basics. But once it appears that she knows the command, increase the time she has to stay in that position before giving her the treat. Again, if she pops up too quickly (later on) say "no" or "ah-ah" and put her in it again.
I don't think dogs are stupid either, they just don't always get things fast.
Honestly though I laughed at your post, because I can relate. Tips understood sit in one minute. Literally. I got him to sit once by holding a treat above his head, and he did it the second time as soon as I asked him. So I was like, cool, it's going to be easy. WRONG. He still doesn't know down, and we've done the method mentionned above probably 200 times now. I'm thinking that maybe it's because we started when he was too small and it was harder to understand, because the ground was just so close to him already. But hey, it's not like 'down' is a very important command anyway (IMO), he knows sit, stay, wait and off and it's good enough for me. Boris on the other hand understood down after probably 20ish attempts. I guess it's just easier for some dogs than others.
Honestly though I laughed at your post, because I can relate. Tips understood sit in one minute. Literally. I got him to sit once by holding a treat above his head, and he did it the second time as soon as I asked him. So I was like, cool, it's going to be easy. WRONG. He still doesn't know down, and we've done the method mentionned above probably 200 times now. I'm thinking that maybe it's because we started when he was too small and it was harder to understand, because the ground was just so close to him already. But hey, it's not like 'down' is a very important command anyway (IMO), he knows sit, stay, wait and off and it's good enough for me. Boris on the other hand understood down after probably 20ish attempts. I guess it's just easier for some dogs than others.
Here's the method I used to teach down to my dog. It doesn't seem to be very popular nowdays, but Zeus has very low food drive and refused to follow treats.
I put Zeus into a sit. I knelt down next to him, said "down", then picked up both forelegs (not very high, just a few inches off the ground). I gently lowered him into the down position. Immediate praise and treats.
Zeus wasn't at all scared, and didn't try to resist. It was kind of funny; as I lowered him, he would be looking all around and studying the situation, as if he was thinking "Oh, so that's what she wants!" He learned "down" after only a few sessions.
If your food method doesn't work after putting in a lot of practice, maybe this one will work for you. But if your pup gets scared or tries to fight you when you try this, I would stop immediately. You don't want her to associate training with something scary.
I put Zeus into a sit. I knelt down next to him, said "down", then picked up both forelegs (not very high, just a few inches off the ground). I gently lowered him into the down position. Immediate praise and treats.
Zeus wasn't at all scared, and didn't try to resist. It was kind of funny; as I lowered him, he would be looking all around and studying the situation, as if he was thinking "Oh, so that's what she wants!" He learned "down" after only a few sessions.
If your food method doesn't work after putting in a lot of practice, maybe this one will work for you. But if your pup gets scared or tries to fight you when you try this, I would stop immediately. You don't want her to associate training with something scary.
If a puppy or adult dog is not catching on to what you are trying to teach, the problem is with YOUR approach and method of training. You ask if your dog is 'stupid'? Sounds to me like she's just really smart and not easily fooled... I suggest you sign up for a puppy training class to learn how to properly train and socialize a pup.
At least you have a dog that will be easy to teach once you figure out how best to tech her. My pit bull x dachshund mix is smart, but stubborn. i've been working on fetch with him for about... gee... a year and a half now? He's just now starting to get that the game ends when he doesn't give me the toy back to throw. Down is still an issue... he just doesn't like to be down! He will lie down, and unless i give another command like "Paw" he will pop back up.
The only command he has learned easily is how to shake hands. Now that's his cure all to everything. Sit, give paw... even if i am asking him for something else like down or fetch... *rolls eyes* But i don't really consider him stupid... i figure it's probably my fault.. so i need to sit down and look at my own methods.
The only command he has learned easily is how to shake hands. Now that's his cure all to everything. Sit, give paw... even if i am asking him for something else like down or fetch... *rolls eyes* But i don't really consider him stupid... i figure it's probably my fault.. so i need to sit down and look at my own methods.
Gempress said:
Here's the method I used to teach down to my dog. It doesn't seem to be very popular nowdays, but Zeus has very low food drive and refused to follow treats.
I put Zeus into a sit. I knelt down next to him, said "down", then picked up both forelegs (not very high, just a few inches off the ground). I gently lowered him into the down position. Immediate praise and treats.
Zeus wasn't at all scared, and didn't try to resist. It was kind of funny; as I lowered him, he would be looking all around and studying the situation, as if he was thinking "Oh, so that's what she wants!" He learned "down" after only a few sessions.
If your food method doesn't work after putting in a lot of practice, maybe this one will work for you. But if your pup gets scared or tries to fight you when you try this, I would stop immediately. You don't want her to associate training with something scary.
I put Zeus into a sit. I knelt down next to him, said "down", then picked up both forelegs (not very high, just a few inches off the ground). I gently lowered him into the down position. Immediate praise and treats.
Zeus wasn't at all scared, and didn't try to resist. It was kind of funny; as I lowered him, he would be looking all around and studying the situation, as if he was thinking "Oh, so that's what she wants!" He learned "down" after only a few sessions.
If your food method doesn't work after putting in a lot of practice, maybe this one will work for you. But if your pup gets scared or tries to fight you when you try this, I would stop immediately. You don't want her to associate training with something scary.
I think she's confused with your using down twice. By repeating the command, you're telling her "You're not doing what I asked the first time, so I'm going to ask you again." Then you're rewarding her, and she's done absolutely nothing different (she's already laying down) to try and earn the reward. See the confusion?
Say "down" only once. I said it as I was reaching for Zeus' legs. The instant he lay down, I praised like crazy and gave him a treat. Timing is important. It's best to say it when you reach for their legs. When they start to understand, they will lay down when they see you reaching for their legs, because they know what you're going to do. Hence, they'll connect it with "down".
Say "down" only once. I said it as I was reaching for Zeus' legs. The instant he lay down, I praised like crazy and gave him a treat. Timing is important. It's best to say it when you reach for their legs. When they start to understand, they will lay down when they see you reaching for their legs, because they know what you're going to do. Hence, they'll connect it with "down".