How to Teach The Long Down

Sit on the Dog

Well not actually on the dog. You sit on the leash. The Long Down is more than just a down stay like you’d do at the vet’s office or while you’re having a latte a the cafe.  It’s truly a long down of at least 30 minutes, but you should aim for over an hour, or two.

Why is The Long Down helpful?  

This exercise is about impulse control.   About energy.   About calming down, relaxing and giving in to your leadership.

When you begin teaching, your dog doesn’t even need to know the command down.

Training Tools For Teaching:

• A well-fitted collar that your dog cannot back out of. Think Martingale or a Slip Lead.

• A 5 or 6 foot leash

• A comfortable chair & something for you to do for the next 30 minutes to an hour

How to Teach the Long Down

• Issue the Down command to your dog

• Drape the leash across the seat of your comfy chair and sit down on the leash. You want to be hands-free.

  • Ensure that the dog has just enough length of the leash to be down without any tension on the leash, but if he stands up, there will be downward pressure on the leash

  • I slide my foot across the leash

  • Say nothing to your dog regardless of his protest or breaking his command.

  • No toys or bones are permitted in your teaching phase (a couple of weeks) — just don’t let him gnaw the leg of your chair either!

Now, you read a book.  Watch a Movie.  Play a game.  It doesn’t matter what you do except that at no time should you speak to the dog or touch him.  Nor should you get up until your timed exercise is over.

Start with 30 minutes.   Do it 2-3 times a day if possible for a week.  Then begin increasing the duration of time a few minutes a day until you are in excess of an hour.

Initially, your dog may experience frustration at being unable to pull away. Learning to cope with frustration is an important part of teaching your dog to settle & relax, even when they would prefer to be doing other things. Think of this as your first step to the on-off switch.

The Hardest Part

Your patience!   Just do the exercises.  And watch your relationship with your dog evolve — and his behavior improve.

Use this exercise often in your training & practice with your dog once you have taught it. It’s a great change-up for the place command.

Talking Points:

For dogs that chew leashes — you may have to start to introduce the “leave-it command” firmly. So that exercise may need to get resolved before you can build duration.

For dogs that like to jump up on you, Ideally you can ignore it, but if necessary, quietly and gently block them and push them back on the floor. If needed, use your foot to step on the leash and shorten the leash so that the only comfortable position is to lay down. Keep the leash short enough that they actually cannot raise up that far.

For dogs that like to nibble toes — wear shoes :-)

The less you fidget and give them moving targets (hands and feet) the better.