In our new class, Quinn needs to be able to "drop", which is like "down" but she can't put her bum down first, she needs to go down on all fours straight to the ground. The trainer gave me 2 methods to teach, and Quinn won't do either. The first is to lure her head back towards her front legs until she naturally "bows" into a down. The second is for me to sit in a chair and lure her along side the chair (which actually doesn't make sense to me once I started trying) - she just does her usual style of down which is dropping her back end down and slowly lowering her front. She does not like the down position and online searching keeps bringing up "drop it"....not a drop. Does anyone have any tips/ideas?
Yes, either a full sit to down, or just lowers her bum first then her front follows a little after...a reluctant down
Maybe try using a platform. Standing up, front paws on the platform and ask for the drop (maybe use a lure at the same time if needed). As the front paws stay on the platform, it forces them to drop "down" rather than with their front feet coming forward. Once you have it mastered from the stand, you can try from the sit as well. It's also useful for teaching a neat sit-to-stand as you want them to bounce their bum up without moving their front feet, rather than moving their front feet forward to come to a stand.
Hang on, I think I'm talking about something different. I was talking about the two types of drop (where they either drop straight down or by putting their front legs forward first. The first looks neater in heel work as they maintain a better heel position). Are you talking about a moving drop (i.e. stand to drop but no sit in between)? Maybe try having her standing in front of you, nice and close. Then try luring her straight down. At this stage, it might even be worth luring slightly forward as you go down so that she can't drop back onto her bum before lowering her front.
Good suggestions. Yes, a stand to drop (I don't know if drop is the right word, it's what the trainer is calling it though), in heel position (eventually). I've taught a good stand, and she pops up properly from either a sit or down position. I will try luring her from directly in front of me, slightly forward and see what happens! I feel that her 'down' method is so strong it's going to be hard to break, so not sure if the platform would encourage her to put her bum down even more or not, but worth a try!
That was going to be my next question - so she can do it properly in one direction, not the other. That's something to build on, surely, but I don't have the experience to know how @Joy usually has some great suggestions, any ideas?
Is there any specific reason that the drop must be all fours paws down to the ground @QuinnM15 , just curious really. From info on some of the awards for obedience they just talk about the dog going into a 'down' position for a 'drop' with points lost for slow response or more than one cue given. There's no way my girl would ever do a 'drop' as you describe - our down starts from a sit and then front legs down but that's more a result of her ED I think
Sorry, I’m afraid Molly goes into a down by lowering her back end first. She doesn’t stop in a sit, it’s a continuous movement but it’s not what you’re looking for. I haven’t tried this from Kikopup but it’s one possibility-fast forward to about 2.35
We’re taking a tricks class, and I believe this is the foundation of something we are building towards in future classes. It’s not crucial to her training (for our test we can select our best 10 tricks, so if I can’t crack it the drop, I won’t use any tricks that it is the basis for in our test), but I did want to at least try to train it. I’ve trained her to crawl and can’t get this one!
I didn't realise you were doing a tricks class - what fun. Have a chat with your trainer but if you are really struggling I would probably advise moving on to something else and remove the 'drop' from training for a few weeks and then slowly re-introduce.
Harley goes into a down front end first. From what I have read is it not a problem. Of course she also hovers her bum until I ask her to down again, just in case something else exciting happens.
This is one of the tricks that her method of down isn't working to teach! I'm currently clicking whenever I catch her in a stretch that is in the bow position but likely won't get a good bow for our test!
It's very fun! Quinn is so quick to pick things up that I'm finding it really rewarding. We decided last night at class to move on from the drop for now, but it's something I will keep working on by ourselves but won't use for the test in a few weeks!
Hi Ashley, let the dog know you have a treat. Accordingly, place your hand with the lure at the end of your dog's nose. From there, drop your hand to touch her chest and continue down to between her front legs. Do it slowly. Your hand should not go straight down but at angle from her nose to chest to between her front legs. If you do it properly, the front end will drop first. Only release the lure when the back end also hits the floor. I can also explain how to teach a drop by guidance but I'm guessing you would prefer to use a lure.
Thanks for this - I gave up on drop for a couple of months and have recently re-introduced drop as a down at heel with a the cue "drop" and a different hand signal from down for our rally obedience class. I started with a lure and we are still working on it but making progress!
