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My dog won't hold his down command; how do I teach him to stay and head down?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 5 years and 4 months old | 25 lbs

I tell benji to sit or laydown and i click the clicker and give him a treat. Chews and swallows the treat and then he thinks i’m releasing him from the command because i gave him the treat. I don’t know how to fix this. Also, how do i tell him to put his head on the floor with a laydown?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Katie S

Certified Dog Trainer

Published on October 15th, 2018

Great questions. When you’re building a command to include holding the position until you give a release it can be tricky getting them to wait after the reward. Next time you ask Benji to down. Click reward but keep your hand there with a few treats and feed him treats a few seconds apart. Release with your command word. Try it again. The extra treats will help keep him there and wait longer without getting up immediately. Start smell, 1-2 second to hold before release. Once he gets the idea more treats are coming he will begin to wait longer and you. Can build the time he waits according to how fast he progresses. If you want your down command to I

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  • Image profile

    Answered By Katie S

    Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Sorry! I hit the submit button before I was done writing my answer. If you want his head down on the floor as part of the command you can use treats to help get his head down on the floor. Click and and reward. Just don’t reward the down until his head is down too. Then you can still offer more treats as I first stated to build the command longer so he holds until you release him.

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