Down From Stand
This is a good exercise to teach your dog for the purpose of training. Having learned “sit” before “down,” he may think that he should always sit before lying down. This technique teaches him how to lie down directly from a standing position.
Initially, you taught your dog to lie down by getting him to sit first, and then using a treat to lure him into “down.” Along with the cue word, that particular movement of your hand will have become the puppy’s signal for ‘down.” For this exercise you will start by using the same cue word and hand signal, but with your dog in a “stand” position so that he will learn how to apply his association with the command to a different situation.
Step 1
Start with your dog in a standing position, facing you. Show him that you have a treat and hold it slightly below his nose.
Step 2
Lower your hand straight down, and then slowly sweep it forward along the floor space in front of your dog, and give the cue world for “down.”
Step 3
Your dog will have recognized the signal because you taught him “down” from “sit,” and will drop directly into a “down,” following the lure of the treat.
Step 4
Once he is successfully in “down,” click-and-treat and give your dog lots of warm praise and affection.
Back to "Further Training"DOWN FROM STAND
Ideally, you will want your puppy to learn to drop into “down” without having to sit first. Sometimes your dog may think that “sit” is actually part of the “down” behavior and when you show him the treat he could go into a “sit” immediately. This can be rectified if, when you begin the exercise with the dog standing, you make sure that you hold your hand slightly lower than his nose as you show him the treat. If you are not specific about this, he will be confused about what you want him to do. Remember, if you bring the treat up any higher than nose level, your dog will associate this with a “sit” command.