Prepare for the first lesson of the Down exercise by a careful study of the drawing. Memorize the step-by-step procedure for properly placing your dog in the down position.
Begin by bringing the dog, at heel, from his place of confinement and re-viewing all exercised learned to date. When you reach a point where there
is not the slightest contention on an exercise, make a stop and after the dog has sat automatically, command the dog to "Stay." He must be able to
hold his Sit-Stay before you give one command, "Down."
Then slide your left hand down to the collar, bend down on your left knee to the ground parallel to the dog' body. Hold the collar snugly to keep his
neck from sliding and turning. Take the right hand with the palm facing up to the sky, reach under his right leg, take hold of his left leg and gently lift out. At the same time the left forearm bears down across his shoulders as you say "Shadow" Down and praise.
Keep the downward pressure of your left arm on the dog's back as you move both his feet straight forward from under him. If his legs are small enough you can hold them both in your right hand; otherwise, grasp his left leg at a point high enough to prevent him from raising his right leg above the path of your arm to carry his feet from under him. Praise the dog immediately when he reaches the down position and let him get up.
Walk off with the dog at heel and practice the other exercises one or twice each, then repeat the placing and praising on the down. The average train-ing period, with time spent on practictrain-ing exercises and meettrain-ing a dog's occasional challenge will be fifteen times per session. To greatly reduce the resistance to the Down Correction it is advisable to increase the Down exercise to thirty times per days for ten days. During the training periods of the first ten days spent on the down, continue to place and praise your dog in the down position. If you've done a good job of pleasantly associating the exercise with the command, your dog will be 'melting' cheerfully down
into position by the end of the eleventh day's training
Step 1: Getting into position.
Step 2: Place your hand under your dog's legs.
Lesson 9: The Down
Lesson 9: The Down
Step 3: Lift the legs and bring your dog into the "Down" position.
Lesson 14: The Throw-Chain
Correction for a "Down".
On the eleventh day, bring your dog from his place of confinement and go through the usual pattern of reviewing the exercises. After placing him on the down once or twice, make a stop and, after the dog has sat automati-cally, step out to where you can face him from a position of about twenty degrees to the right of the direction in which the dog's body is heading.
With both hands locked on the leash about two inches from the collar, give one and only one command, "Down." If your dog goes down on command, praise him warmly. If the dog does not respond immediately, use your
arms, shoulders and back in a chopping down stroke that jerks the leash at a forty-five degrees angle enough toward the dog's right side so that all of the force is centered on his right front leg. Simple mechanics will cause your dog to crumple downward and forward. Give him a pat, then let him
up again. When your dog is reliably responding under ordinary conditions, work until he responds in the same way in more distracting situations
The Koehler Method of Dog Training
Novice Obedience Class Handout Sheet 04 Down
Hold collar with left hand close to back of the dog's neck; place left fore-arm across neck. With right hand lift up dog's front legs, while applying downward pressure with left arm until dog goes into down position.
Left About Turn
On about turn, turn left into dog. Switch leash from right hand to left hand behind your back. Once the Left About Turn is completed, immediately switch leash back to right hand.
Down Correction
Give verbal command "Down." If dog doesn't go down, pivot at 45-degree angle in front of dog. With both hands on leash, about 6 inches from end give a quick jerk downward to your left until dog goes down. Do not 'nag,' or apply steady pressure. Use a Quick Strong Jerk!
Figure "8"
Practice figure "8" pattern with 2 people, garbage cans etc.
Recall
Leave dog on Sit-Stay and go to end of leash. After at least 20 seconds give dog's name and command "Come," with a tug on the leash. If the dog shows sign of coming, praise the dog while he is coming to you. If he doesn't come, reel in the leash. When dog is in front of you, have him sit.
Make sure Sit is straight.
1st & 2nd Day
1. Place dog in down position, NO verbal command.
2. Give dog straight 'Stay' command and circle dog.
3. Practice figure "8" exercise.
4. Continue with "Sit-Stay." Leave dog for 30 seconds and return around dog.
5. Continue all heeling exercises, all turns, fast and slow.
3rd & 4th Day
1. Give command "Down" and place dog in down position.
2. Continue "Stand," Figure "8" and heeling. Circle dog 2 times on
"Stand."
3. Continue with "Sit-Stays" for 1 minute at end of leash.
5th & 6th Day
1. Start "Down Correction," follow instructions above.
2. Place dog on "Stand-Stay" and circle dog 3 times. Use the "Exer-cise Finished" to break dog out of stand.
3. Recall, Follow instructions described above for recall.
4. Continue all heeling exercises.
NEXT CLASS: By next class, all dogs should be completely past the point of contention while heeling on the leash. Use lots of distractions. There will be a mid-term exam next week in class.