Down on cue
Foundation — prerequisite skills
Psychiatric Service Dog
Mobility Assistance Dog
Guide Dog
Hearing Alert Dog
Medical Alert Dog
Autism Assistance Dog
Allergy Detection Dog
Multi-Task Service Dog
Service Dog In Training
About this task
The dog lies down on a verbal or hand signal cue reliably.
How it helps: Foundation skill required for many tasks including lap work, under-table behavior, and stay exercises.
Required foundation skills
Sit on cue.
Training steps
- From a sit, lure dog's nose to the ground between their front paws
- Mark and reward the moment elbows touch the ground
- Do not push the dog down — let them follow the lure
- Repeat 10-15 times per session
- Add verbal cue "down" just before the lure
- Gradually fade the lure
- Practice down from a stand position (not just from sit)
- Practice until reliable on verbal cue alone
Proofing criteria
Once your dog reliably performs this task at home, proof it in these environments and situations:
- Down reliably in the living room
- Down from a sit
- Down from a stand
- Down with mild distractions
- Down in multiple rooms of the house
- Down in the backyard
- Down in a parking lot
- Down inside a store
- Down and stay for 1 minute in public
- Down on first cue 9 out of 10 times in any environment