Teaching your dog to lie down can be a useful skill in many situations, such as going to a new home or staying calm while waiting to meet another dog at the clinic. A trained, controlled and calm dog is a blessing to the dog owner who will not jump or run away without the owner’s command. Training Step 1. Have the dog wear a collar and order the dog to get down on the owner’s left side. Then ask the dog owner to squat down and hold the dog’s left front foot (the one farther away from you) in the owner’s left hand. 2. Then hold the treat in your right hand and slowly move it outward. As soon as the dog finishes lying down, give him the treat in your hand as an encouragement. “Lie down” is an advanced training action after the dog learns to lie down. Again, as long as the dog’s desire for treats is used, along with the dog owner’s physical guidance, the dog will soon be able to learn how to lie down. Note that because the “lie down” action is similar to the “play dead” action, after learning “lie down”, you can go further and use the “bang ” (simulated gunshot) command to guide, teach the dog how to play “play dead game”.
