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Permalink Reply by Sandy Stickney on March 21, 2012 at 1:13pm

I don't know exactly how we got them to do it.  We had the help of puppy training class and I think we lured to the floor with the treat.  Yes, it is a bit of a challenge with the lowriders, but they got it.  My Kota likes to make sure we know she is following the command, so when she is in a sit and we give her the down command, she lifts both front paws off the floor at the same time, almost like she is doing a "sit up", and then flops her belly on the floor, paws out.  It makes me giggle every time she does it as she does it with such style.  Kirby slowly inches his paws forward one at a time until he's finally in the down position. 

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Permalink Reply by Laura Rochette on March 21, 2012 at 4:25pm

I did puppy training with Lucy and learned a trick for pups close to the ground like Corgis. Sit on the ground with one of your legs bent and "lure" the pup to go under your bent leg while saying "down." This "forces" him/her to get on her belly close to the down position. Do this several times, then try without the bent leg, saying down. Lucy learned this way pretty quickly. Needless to say, it takes treats.

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Permalink Reply by Bonni B on March 21, 2012 at 6:53pm

Lucy had trouble with 'down' at first too. I think she figured she was already so low to the ground she didn't see the point! Our puppy class trainer suggested what Danielle and Laura said and have her go under my legs so it forces her to go down. I didn't have to do that very many times with Lucy before she got it. I'm sure Becca will get it, you're right that corgis are scary smart.

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Permalink Reply by Kevan hudson on March 21, 2012 at 10:34pm

Hi there, when I was teaching Benson "down" command I made him sit& stay,then lowered the treat closer to the ground and said "down", the bad part is I told him to roll over,now as one of the previous posters said ,I say down, he rolls over, oh well, he's my Benson, I will love him any way I can get him,(he is pretty well trained, he is typing this out right now,, send treats,liver treats!!!)

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Permalink Reply by Lemmy Winks on March 21, 2012 at 10:41pm

We did it using a leash. Attach the leash, have 'em sit then use your foot about 5 inchs to step down on the leash (there should be enough pull for the head to go down, but not all the way) you say "down" then step( do not take your foot off until they do it), and as soon as they do it, take your foot off the leash, treat and "good down!"/praise. Now all I have to do is point straight down and say the command.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on March 22, 2012 at 12:24am

The leash pressure method is the method we use with our rescues at school as well. If it doesn't work to lure them down with a treat on the ground then we step on the leash and use it as a kind of pulley. Apply pressure, but don't pull the dog down. Basically you are just applying enough pressure to make it uncomfortable and eventually the dog will lay down to get a release. Once they lay down they get a treat and lots of praise. Don't use ANY words until you can get the behavior about 75% of the time. If you say "down" and then she scratches your hand with her paw, sniffs around, and does a bunch of other silly behaviors, she could just as easily associate the bad behviors with the word "down" and not the behavior you want,so you always want to make sure she is doing the behavior readily before assigning a word to it. I can't remember for sure, but I think I taught Franklin with the under the leg technique that others have mentioned.

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on March 23, 2012 at 4:03pm

All of my training dogs are different.  But, when working with my corgis, I've always put them in a "sit" first. Then with the treat at the nose, I come down slowly and toward the dog.  Kind of like pushing their body back but without the contact. With the way their legs are, they lie down one of 2 ways: either the legs are forward and flat or backward and flat.  They don't fold like a larger dog.  So you have to get their butt to slide back.  Do it on a slick surface, like a kitchen floor, at first until she gets it.

Drop me a line if you need help.  (I'm a professional dog trainer.)

Cindi

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Permalink Reply by Marcie on March 25, 2012 at 7:29pm

She got it! The weather was yucky here today so we practiced come and sit on and off all day. This afternoon I decided to work on down again. I sat on the floor cross legged and got her around on my left side. with her against my leg I baited her with my right hand and put my left on her shoulders. She gave me a "What the ..." look then flopped down. Within a few minutes I didn't even have to put my hand on her shoulder.

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Permalink Reply by Brigitte Campanaro on March 27, 2012 at 3:38pm

yes, Corgi's seem to just pop up (or at least the back end does). Put her in a sit position, take treat in hand and slide it between her two front legs (towards her butt) she will follow treat. This works especially well on a kitchen or wood floor where the just slide backwards into down.

 

IF she still doesn't go down, do the same steps but start to angle the treat to the side still heading in the direction of the back end.

 

Hope this helps!

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