Down was the hardest command for Chloe to learn! We tried with holding the treat between her front paws and going further under her but she would just slide backwards. Then we put the treat again floor level on the left or right side of her front paw (right worked best on Chloe) and as she would reach for the treat I would move it further back close to her body. Finally about midway between her front paw and back leg she slide down to reach the treat! BIG PRAISE and do it again... it took a good week for her to grasp down.
BIG TIP - when your training for lay down it was easier when I sat down on the floor with Chloe. Even though I my resemble a corgi (short legs, round middle, and lets
not talking about the shedding!
) it was "ruff" to keep bending over to touch the floor with the treats... and when Chloe was sliding backwards and I was already ready to tip over walking with my head between my knees ... come to think of it that must have been pretty "ruff" on the others in the class toooo
