Whining when asked for "down"

Discussion in 'Labrador Training' started by snowbunny, Jun 22, 2015.

  1. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    This is a weird one I have with Willow.

    I've been working on a couple of basics with her. This includes the "down". She's always been pretty slow responding to it, if she did at all, so I've gone right back to the beginning again. When I'm at home, after a couple of repetitions, she's getting it and offering a good, relatively snappy response.

    Out and about, though, things are different. I am more than aware that we need to go back to the initial stages in a different environment, but there's something off about her. She goes from being bouncy and responding to other simple cues with gusto, to seeming anxious. I'll sit down on the floor, or kneel in front of her, and use a tasty treat as a lure, but as soon as she sees that cue, she starts sniffing around, and to me it seems like it's an anxious sniff rather than a distracted one. Then, if I do some attention drills and ask for a down again, she will often start whining.

    Now, I have to say, I'm not that bothered about the down itself, as long as I have a strong sit/stay and can get her to settle, but this is worrying me a bit. Is it just a case of needing to proof it more at home? If she was just not doing the behaviour, I could easily go along with that, although it would be pretty odd at just how slow she's being, compared to other cues we've learnt. But the sniffing and the whining make me wonder if there's something she doesn't like about it. My immediate concern is that she finds it sore, but I've seen no other evidence of any soreness whatsoever, and she certainly doesn't seem sore when doing it at home on her vet bed. Could it be that she doesn't like lying down on grass?? Or is she just being a teenager and whining out of frustration that I'm asking her to work her brain a bit, when she'd rather be doing easy things for treats or sniffing around?

    I guess the next step is for me to take her vet bed out into the field and try her on that. But I'd welcome any other thoughts as to the cause of her anxiousness with this one cue.
     
  2. JulieT

    JulieT Registered Users

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    Huh, that is a bit strange. The turning away to sniff is a definite sign in Charlie that it's going wrong for him - it's how he relieves stress.

    Is she happy to lie down on grass if you stop? I mean if you sit on a rock or bench or something will she eventually lie down in a settle? Or keep going or stand?

    The only thought I have is that in a stimulating environment it might be not at all a natural thing for some dogs to lie down? It might make her feel a bit vulnerable?
     
  3. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    She's not really one for lying down when settling. She'd rather stand or sit. If we're at a cafe or something, she'll eventually settle under the table, laying on her side, but it does take her a while. I've never known her to lie down on grass of her own volition. So maybe it is a vulnerability thing, like you say.

    Like I say, I'm not massively concerned about it as a behaviour that we must learn, but I would very much like to understand what it is she's struggling with. So I think a plan may be to continue to work on it at home with high-value treats. Ask her for a down in order to get her meals. And also take her vet bed out - a surface I know she has no problem with - and do little bits of training in different locations. If she manages on her vet bed, I can look at fading that, and/or using different surfaces; I have some high-density foam and some felt that I was going to cut up for place boards/markers anyway.

    Suck it and see, I guess. I don't want to force her into something she's really uncomfortable with, but on the other hand, it could be something that helps build her trust in me, over time.
     
  4. Rosie

    Rosie Registered Users

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    Pongo is great at the down, except when it means getting his tummy muddy. Although he's perfectly happy to squelch into muddy puddles to cool off! But otherwise I really think he just doesn't like the feeling of cold mud on his belly on a cool day. Could it be as simple as that?
     
  5. Tomal

    Tomal Registered Users

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    Max (11 months) hates the down command and always has. It was very difficult to teach and now if I say it he looks at me as if to say "You must be joking!". He will do it for a high value reward but definitely prefers a comfy surface such as his vet bed. Sometimes he is given the command and will actually walk away from us and look for his vet bed and then go into the down! Outdoors it would have to be on a nice dry bit of grass! You're not alone :)
     
  6. Stacia

    Stacia Registered Users

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    I would get the vet to check her out first, seems strange that she never lies down except on her side. As you say a 'down' isn't really the be all and end all, if she doesn't do it. I don't think training her to do it if she is genuinely reluctant, would increase her trust in you, perhaps the opposite!
     

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