There are many ways to teach this command, but the method I’m going to explain here is the easiest by a landslide. It’s also a method that dependably works on dogs of almost all breeds, personalities, and ages. The only tools you’ll need are a leash and a bag of your dog’s favorite treats. Play rewards won’t work as well for this one, but you’re not likely to need them. If your dog is not especially food motivated, choose something special, like little pieces of cooked chicken or steak or liver treats, to get her attention.
Before we dig in to learn this step-by-step, I’d like to tell you about a rescue dog who was the rare exception to what I just explained about most dogs knowing a SIT—or at least having a flicker of memory of learning it. Glory was five years old when I found her, and she’d been so neglected all her life that no one had even bothered to teach her the most basic and simplest command.
Courtesy of Litton Syndications, Inc.
Meet Glory. When I first met Glory in the shelter, she was in sorry shape. This little poodle mix’s off-white coat was greasy and stained from her time on the streets. She had sap covering her fur. Her nails were so long it sounded like she was tap-dancing on the floor as she walked—something that’s not just uncomfortable for a dog, but an obvious sign of neglect. She was going to need some serious grooming just to make her comfortable, let alone adoptable.
Sadly, Glory’s issues were more than skin-deep. Neglect is one of the most common types of abuse dogs experience. It takes a physical toll, but it can also do psychological damage. Glory was a poster child for this. What should have been a warm glow in her eyes had been replaced by a milky-gray stare—the look of a dog who had spent too long peering out from behind bars. She was middle-aged and out of shape—probably a good ten pounds overweight. That may not sound like much to a person, but on a small dog it can easily work out to 25 percent or more of her total body weight. That’s like an extra fifty pounds on an average man—enough baggage to lead to serious health problems. You might wonder how a neglected dog ends up being overweight, and often the answer is an owner who keeps a big bin of pet food around, leaving the dog to feed herself. I’d guess that was the case for Glory, and that both she and the bin resided outside year-round.
Despite her condition, my first impression of Glory wasn’t that she was defeated or neglected, greasy or out of shape. I never look at dogs that way in a shelter. I look at them and see what their potential is, then I try to figure out how I can help them reach it. It was easy to see Glory’s potential. She was extremely sweet. She obviously loved attention. She was sensitive and affectionate. She had the personality of a dog who belonged in a warm home with a loving family and a soft bed—even though I doubt she’d ever had any of those things. The moment I sat down on the floor in her kennel, she crawled into my lap and rested her head on my stomach as if to say, “Please get me outta here.” I knew then that once she’d had some TLC and training, it would be a no-brainer finding this dog a home.
So I hooked Glory on a leash, walked her outside, and loaded her into my truck. When she hit the backseat, she just collapsed, as if the pressure and anxiety of getting that far had knocked her off her feet. Seeing a dog wiped out by the stress of what she’s been through is never pretty. Unfortunately, I see it all too often. I hoped Glory knew she was one step closer to being in a loving home. Starting that day, we had a long road of recovery, rehabilitation, and training ahead of us.
It didn’t take long to realize it was going to be a little bumpy. When I got Glory back to the ranch, I started by assessing her knowledge of the 7 Common Commands. The first thing I do in any dog’s evaluation is ask for a SIT. Seems easy enough, right? And most dogs can do it. But Glory didn’t know how. The fact that she was never taught to SIT still blows my mind because even the most untrained dogs know this one. If they’ve had even an hour of training in their lives, SIT is what they learned. But this dog was five years old with zero training, so I was starting her 7 Common Commands from scratch.
Luckily, Glory’s personality made her eager to learn and to go along with the exercise regimen I set up to help her shed some extra weight. At the end of her time at the ranch, Glory went to her forever home with a widow who’d written to me saying she wanted to find a loving companion as she adjusted to her new life. The two of them—both optimists despite having been through hard times—ended up being a perfect match.
Teaching the SIT
The SIT command is so easy to teach that you almost don’t have to train it. Why so easy? Because dogs sit naturally—all you have to do is capture the moment.
There are a lot of ways to teach the command, but the way I taught Glory is one of the most foolproof. Let’s call it the basic SIT. Unlike some commands that have a lot of different techniques that work for different dogs, this one works for almost everyone.
Start by making sure your dog is on-leash. A short leash is perfect for this technique, since you’ll be staying close to your dog. Always remember that the leash is an extension of your arm, which means your arm can prevent things from happening and correct things that are already going on. In this case, you’ll use it in one of two slightly different ways, depending on the size of your dog. If your dog is small, put her on an elevated surface (I use a pedestal) and grasp the leash a few inches from her collar so you’re ready to limit her mobility. Your big dog can stay on the ground. For big dogs, before you move on to the next step, anchor the leash to the ground with your foot. For small dogs, hold the end of the leash down low to keep your dog from jumping. Either of these positions will give you the control you need to get started. Remember, control is the cornerstone of training!
Now it’s time to get to work. Take a treat—a good one that your dog can get excited about—and hold it about six inches in front of her. If your dog hasn’t had much training or learned much control yet—like Glory—she’ll naturally go lunging toward it. But the leash in your hand or under your foot is going to stop that. This is the key to the technique because most untrained dogs will just go for the food if they’re not restricted, and you don’t want to reinforce that behavior.
When Glory stopped lunging, I took the treat and once again held it a few inches away from her snout. Do the same with your dog. (If your dog doesn’t lunge, by the way, you can jump straight to this part.) Now, move that treat along a forty-five-degree arc up and over your dog’s head. This keeps your dog focused on the treat. Her head will follow the treat, lifting farther and farther upward. As you move the treat over your dog’s head, say SIT. When the treat gets so high your dog can’t crane her neck any farther north, she’ll do the basic math and figure out that if she sits down, she can once again see it comfortably.
With a big dog, anchor the leash to the ground with your foot to prevent her from lunging for the treat.
If your small dog starts to lunge for the treat, use the leash to limit her mobility.
Arc the treat over your dog’s head until she sits.
The moment your dog’s butt hits the ground, say, “Good SIT” and give her a treat. Timing is everything: If you wait too long, your dog won’t make the connection between sitting down and getting the reward. Making that association is vital to successfully training this command. Once you’ve had that first success, walk your dog a few steps to a different spot and repeat the process. Hold the treat six inches from her nose, move it in an angle up over her head while giving the command, and wait for her butt to hit the floor. The moment that happens, reward with praise and food.
As with any command, you want to condition your dog so she knows it and knows it well. Most dogs can understand just about any basic command in a short period of time. But understanding a technique and being properly conditioned are two different things. Think about it this way: I can go take an hour-long karate class and understand how to do a kick or two, but that doesn’t mean I’m good at karate, and it definitely doesn’t mean I’ll be ready to use those kicks when a moment calls for them. If all I’m relying on is a single less
on, I probably can’t fight my way out of a paper bag. But if I continuously take lessons every day and train on those same kicks over and over, I’ll eventually be a well-trained and well-conditioned fighter who can put the art to practical use. We all remember how Mr. Miyagi trained Daniel in The Karate Kid, conditioning him through muscle memory while Daniel didn’t even know it was happening. The exact same rule applies here. Our pets have to learn a technique first, but then we have to condition them until that technique is just a matter of muscle memory. If you don’t follow through with this step, any kind of distraction or just a lack of focus will interfere with the command, possibly when you need it most. If you do this right, though, your dog won’t even have to think about what you’re asking her to do. She’ll just do it.
That kind of conditioning is exactly what I did with Glory. Every few hours over a week, I spent ten to fifteen minutes conditioning her to SIT on command. Every day we worked together, she got quicker and more reliable. By the end of the week, I didn’t even need the food reward anymore. Glory just knew that SIT means sit, and she had mastered the command for life. Just in time, too, because her new owner was eagerly awaiting her arrival.
I still get e-mails from Glory’s new mom telling me how great and well mannered her dog is. She says Glory’s the most popular dog at the park and that they both love their early morning and evening walks. It always makes me feel good knowing that a dog I rescued went on to a new life with the skills to be a great companion. I’m especially glad that was possible for Glory, who had spent far too much of her life living in such profound neglect she didn’t even know what a SIT was.
5
DOWN
If there’s one command that’s the most underrated, it’s the DOWN. It has so many great uses, like getting your dog out of the way when company visits, or giving him a tool to handle being at an outdoor cafe, or ensuring he’ll be a polite guest when you travel. It even comes in handy for the occasional photo op. Most importantly, this command is the ultimate form of control for even the most wild and crazy animal. Any dog owner can benefit from having some extra control from time to time—and we all know someone who needs it badly, like a friend or neighbor with an incorrigible pet who rules the house. I get about fifty calls a week from people in this situation, and I tell them all to start by teaching their dogs a reliable DOWN.
If teaching your dog to SIT is the canine equivalent of putting a car in park, teaching the DOWN is like shifting to park and also taking the keys out of the ignition. It’s really a DOWN and a STAY rolled into a single command.
For most dogs, teaching the SIT first is an easy and obvious choice. Every once in a while, though, I meet a dog who needs an extra level of control before we can even get started. In those cases, I start by teaching the DOWN. That was definitely the case with one of my rescues—a powerful, intense, large dog who’d managed to overwhelm every home that had tried to adopt him. This dog desperately needed a handler, not just an owner. And he needed the DOWN command to help him master the art of self-control. His name was Ari.
© Brandon McMillan
Meet Ari. If you take two of the best working dog breeds on the planet—a German shepherd and a Malinois—and breed them, you get a dog like Ari. When I met this pup, he was a ninety-pound-and-growing adolescent. His jaws were so big and strong, he could chew through just about anything (and he had). He was very protective, and as soon as he came into a house, he’d scan the entire place, taking inventory of who was around. He was full of drive, energy, and determination. Ari was a perfect example of the kind of dog who needs a job; if he were a man, he’d be in the military.
By the time I found Ari, he’d already been returned to the shelter multiple times, probably because he was just too much dog for most owners to handle. At his age, with so much strength and no Off switch, Ari was on a fast path to being branded unadoptable. I was his last chance to find a home, but I could see that this was a good dog—one with incredible potential—who just needed a way to stop and settle down when he was told. Teaching him the DOWN command was going to give him the tool that would save his life.
Teaching the DOWN
Like any other command, there are lots of ways to teach a dog to obey the DOWN. For me, the simplest, most reliable method is always the way to go. There are three techniques I use most often that are straightforward to teach and easy for most dogs to grasp. One works best for big and medium dogs; one works best for small dogs; and one is a quick, effective alternative for dogs of either size.
Big- and Medium-Dog Technique
Remember the instructions for the Double Leash Lock-Off in Chapter 3? This method of teaching the DOWN starts with putting your dog in that locked-off position. You’ll have him in a harness with an anchor leash attached to it and tied off behind him, plus a collar with the guide leash attached and the handle in your hand. Be prepared with your dog’s favorite treats as you start this process—and remember to train when your dog is hungry. Hunger equals motivation. You’ll need an optimal location to make this work: a sturdy pole, fence post, or even a solid table leg will work well to secure your dog’s anchor leash, and in front of that you’ll want a flat area with about eight feet of clearance all around.
Step 1. Put your dog in the Double Leash Lock-Off position. Since you’re teaching a DOWN, you don’t want any force encouraging your dog to pull up, including the height of the anchor, so be sure to hook it near the bottom. The easiest way to do this is to wrap the handle end of the leash around the post, thread the clip end through the handle, and then attach the clip to the harness the dog is wearing. Now you’re ready to let the magic begin.
Step 2. Using a treat, lure your dog toward you and away from the pole until he has pulled the anchor leash tight behind him. For an eager, intense dog like Ari, this only took a split second. With a more timid dog, you may have a short wait. Once your dog reaches the end of the anchor leash, hold the treat in one hand at the same level as his head and about six inches away from his mouth. Because he is secured to the anchor, he won’t be able to lunge forward to grab it, so now you’ll have his attention.
Step 3. Lower the treat straight to the ground while still holding it in your hand. At the same time, say the word DOWN. Some dogs will go straight into the DOWN position as they follow the treat. If yours does this, calmly praise and reward him with the treat immediately.
With your dog in the Double Leash Lock-Off position and the anchor leash secured low to the ground and taut behind him, hold a treat about six inches away from his mouth.
Lower the treat to the ground while saying the word DOWN.
Once your dog is DOWN, calmly praise and reward him with the treat.
While your dog is still down, I want you to step on the guide leash a couple of inches away from the clip and continue to praise him. This will deter your dog from popping back up. If he tries to stand, the resistance he’ll feel will pull him right back to the floor. Very few dogs will try and fight to stand back up when you step on the leash because it takes too much energy and they want you to continue to reward them for being down. If your dog does resist and tries to stand, simply keep your foot on the leash, say DOWN, and wait until he relaxes. How long it takes depends on how headstrong your dog is, but you can definitely outlast him. As soon as he’s back in the DOWN position, be sure to praise and give him a treat to let him know that’s where you want him to be.
While your dog is still in the DOWN position, step on the guide leash to prevent him from popping back up, and continue to praise him.
Of course, it’s not always quite that easy. Not every dog is going to give you a DOWN right away. Ari didn’t. Like many willful dogs, he lowered his head and even the front of his body but kept his rear end in the air so he was bowing toward the floor. If your dog takes this position, it’s time to utilize that guide leash in your hand. While your dog has his front half lowered, step on the leash and make sure it’s pulled just snug enough that your dog can’t stand back up. It’s a
n awkward position for him, with his butt in the air and his head down, and that treat still out in front. Your dog probably won’t like this pose much. As a result, he’ll have to make a decision: hold the position, keep trying to stand up against the resistance of the guide leash, or lie down. Be sure to keep that treat on the floor just out of his reach as he thinks about it, and keep putting slight downward pressure on the leash and saying DOWN in a calm voice every few seconds. Very few dogs will stand. Most will hold their ground—some for a long time, and some for just a few seconds. Whatever the case may be for your dog, you’re just going to wait him out. Trust me when I tell you that they all eventually give up and lie down—even big, strong-minded dogs like Ari who would rather not give an inch. At the exact moment your dog drops his bottom to the floor, be ready with calm praise and that treat that got his attention in the first place. And be sure to step on the leash right near the clip to prevent him from popping back up.
If your dog takes this position, keep the treat on the floor just out of reach and exert enough pressure on the guide leash so he can’t stand back up. And then wait for his bottom to drop.
There are two key things to remember as you train this technique:
1. When your dog obeys the DOWN command, praise and reward him generously in a calm, slow voice and manner. You don’t want your, “Good boy!” to rev him up and cause him to jump back to his feet.
2. When your dog obeys the DOWN, you want to give him rewards while he’s in that position. Long, soothing strokes from his head to his back to let him know he did well plus food and praise—the whole nine yards. The more he feels comfortable and loved in the DOWN position, the more your dog will want to be there when you ask the next time.
Lucky Dog Lessons Page 8
