- Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.
“Lie down” is one of the earliest behaviors you can teach a dog. Dogs of all ages can learn this cue, and you have five different ways to teach a dog to lie down.
Lying down is useful in plenty of scenarios, such as showing your dog it’s time to relax and keep still in crowded areas or outdoors. Sometimes, simply holding a treat to the floor will get your dog to lie down. They may do several other behaviors first, but it’s important to not give the treat unless they lie down.
You’ll also want to avoid adding a verbal cue right away. You want your dog to start lying down on their own so you can add the word to the behavior. Saying the word too early can dilute the meaning and result in your dog reacting slowly or optionally.
Before you start, make sure your dog is in a training mood—or in the mood for treats! If you plan to teach your dog to lie down in multiple steps, grab a clicker, too. A clicker can help reduce human error and make sure your dog knows the action you want!
How To Teach Dogs To Lie Down From A Stand
Here’s how to teach a standing dog to lie down:
- Hold a treat in front of your dog’s nose.
- Slowly move the treat towards the ground, making sure your dog follows it with their nose.
- Hold the treat on the ground until their belly hits the floor.
- Once their belly is on the ground, click and treat.
- Rapid treat (give 3-4 more treats) a few times so your dog stays in the down position.
Rapid treating helps keep your dog from jumping back up out of excitement or confusion. When you rapid treat, your dog will start to anticipate another treat—and they’re more likely to wait for it in the “down” position.
Practice these steps about a few more times before adding your verbal cue. As your dog moves into position, say “down” or “lie down” to help them pair their behavior with the cue.
How To Teach Dogs To Lie Down From A Sit
You don’t have to teach your dog to sit first—but it could help to teach your dog new skills in separate steps.
Here’s how to teach a dog to lie down from a “sit”:
- Have your dog sit (or wait until they’re sitting already).
- Put a treat in your hand and place it in front of your dog’s nose.
- Slowly move your hand towards the floor and between your dog’s legs so they have to scoot back and lie down.
- Once your dog’s belly hits the ground, click and give them the treat.
- Rapid treat to keep your dog lying down and help them get more excited about this position.
- Say “free” to release them and throw a treat away from you. If your dog comes back after grabbing the treat, then they want to keep learning!
Important: Some experts don’t recommend teaching down from a sitting position, especially for excitable dogs. If your dog picks up the new skill immediately, they may rush through the movements in a sit-down-sit pattern instead of a solid “down.” You can try this method once to get your dog to lie down and capture that behavior, but avoid having your dog sit first every time!
How To Teach Dogs To Lie Down From A Bow
A bow position, also called “play bow,” is a very natural position for a dog. This position signals to other dogs that your dog is ready for attention and games. If your dog naturally offers this position, you can use it to teach them to lie down. Here’s how:
- Take a treat and move it toward the middle of your dog’s front paws.
- Keep the treat on the floor as your dog’s butt goes up into the air.
- Hold the treat still until your dog’s butt drops down. Immediately praise and give treats.
- Repeat until your dog lies down without the bow. Click for this behavior and treat.
- Reset your dog by throwing the treat away from you.
- Repeat the above steps until your dog offers a “down” naturally. Now you’re ready to add a verbal cue!
How To Capture A Natural Down
Here’s how to reinforce “lie down” from your dog’s behavior:
- Wait for your dog to lie down naturally.
- Click when they do and give them a treat.
- If they get up and follow you, ignore them.
- Click and treat each time they lie down on their own.
- Once your dog responds while paying attention to you, you can add a hand signal and then a verbal cue.
Just keep in mind this method can take a lot longer, since timing is very important!
You can also capture a natural down if you know your dog’s behavioral patterns. For example, some dogs who stretch will always move into a down position before getting up again.
If your dog does this, you can click to capture the “down” and immediately treat them so they hold the position. You can also say the word “down” as they lie down and give them a treat afterward.
How To Lie Down Using Your Body Or A Chair
You can also teach a dog to lie down with a prop, like your body or a chair. The chair must be short enough that your dog needs to duck when going under it. For smaller dogs, you can also sit on the floor and bend your knee so they can fit through.
Here’s what to do:
- Position a chair between you and your dog or have your dog sit on one side of your knee.
- Use a treat to lure your dog through, keeping the treat low to the ground.
- Move very slowly, pausing in the middle of the chair or your knee as needed.
- Once your dog moves onto their belly, treat and praise. Do this quickly so they don’t think crawling for the treat is the behavior that earns the reward!
- Repeat, eventually phasing out the prop as they pick up the skill.
How To Teach Verbal And Visual Cues
Experts recommend you avoid teaching verbal and visual cues at the same time. Your dog may start to believe they need both in order to perform the command.
Instead, as you train your dog, focus on adding one cue and “proofing” (solidifying the connection) before adding a new one. When you command “Lie down,” try to say it as your dog gets into position. You want to get the word “down” out before your dog’s belly hits the ground so you can mark and reward the behavior when your dog has finished moving.
You should use hand signals, or visual cues, when fading out a treat. Common options for a “down” hand signal include pointing at the floor with one finger or your whole hand, palm facing downwards.
Consistency is key
Your dog doesn’t care about grammar, but they do understand consistency. If you have been using “lay down,” your dog will still understand this phrase to mean they should lie down.
You can switch the cue to “lie down” (or emphasize the “down”)—but don’t be surprised if you end up doing some retraining!
Why Won’t My Dog Lie Down?
A dog who absolutely refuses to lie down, even when you aren’t training them, may have a medical concern. Dogs may not be able to lie down due to pain or discomfort that only a vet can diagnose.
If your dog won’t lie down during training sessions but has no trouble performing this action at other times, you may just have a communication disconnect. Your dog may not understand that down is the behavior you want, so you may need to get creative with showing them—or capturing the behavior.
These tips can help:
- Make your sessions as fun as possible. This means you may have to take play breaks or use playtime as positive reinforcement.
- Give your dog plenty of treats when they get it right the first time. You can always phase out treats later, once your dog understands the verbal and visual cues.
- Try different training methods if your dog doesn’t respond to the steps above. If you’re teaching this behavior from the beginning, you may need to get creative with influencing your dog into a down.
- Don’t force your dog to learn this behavior if they seem reluctant. Refusal to lie down can be a sign of pain or discomfort. Take a break and try again another time!
- Don’t give them a treat before their butt or belly hits the ground. This will reinforce a different behavior, like a bow.
Most dogs will learn how to lie down in their first training sessions, especially during puppyhood or young adulthood. However, they’ll need multiple follow-ups to make sure the behavior sticks. It may take anywhere from two weeks to a month for a reliable response.
Keep your sessions short—no longer than 10 minutes at a time—so they stay exciting for your dog. If you train your dog multiple times a day, consider limiting the length of the sessions to 5 minutes.
Benefits Of Teaching Dogs To Lie Down
“Lie down” is considered one of the basic training behaviors because it has benefit in many different environments—and serves as a precursor to other tricks like “crawl” or “roll over.”
For example, place training your dog often requires them to know how to lie down so they don’t just stand in position. Many pet parents with reactive dogs find “place” and “down” are great alternative behaviors for dogs who want to chase, bark, or herd.
Down is also considered a natural, relaxing position for a dog. Combining “down” with a “wait” or “stay” cue can signal to your dog that they’ve entered a chill—not active—environment. This is great for impulse control, especially when greeting guests. The down position also requires more effort for your dog to hold and get up from, while a “sit” positions dogs to be a launching pad from their butt.
As you teach your dog to love lying down, you’ll also find this position comes in handy for other things, like grooming, medication application, and more. Just remember to phase out the treats—but don’t abandon them completely! Occasionally surprising your dog with a treat while they’re lying down can go a long way toward reinforcing this behavior.