# Down command in the middle of a come command.



## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Call her but place a jump half way between you and the dog. Advance toward the dog and give the down signal before the jump. That forces a little space between you and the dog. Gradually get further from the dog when you give the down signal. To signal a slower recall I say my recall word softly.


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## fairhavenmagick (Jan 19, 2011)

I would also work on downs from a further distance from you. Have her stay and let you walk away from her (start with a smaller distance) then work on have her go from a sit to a down and then back. Build up distance. This will help with her learning she can perform tasks other places than at you.

Also get a bunch of treats and toss one a few feet away, when she gets it ask her to down. Once she does toss one a few feet away from her. Once she gets it ask her to down. Repeat game. Do this in different directions and distances. This will help her learn down in different places and if the you get the game going it will make her response time quicker too.

I had to teach my girl a down a recall quickly- she had to ace it for a certification. I had the same problem in that she was so fast by the time I got the down out of my mouth she was at my feet. She also wanted to creep closer to me when I did distance commands. 
Someone got my something called a Manners Minder as a gift. Is an auto treat dispenser that comes with a remote. They are a bit spendy but you can find them on ebay, craigslist, etc sometimes. I never took it out of the box until I had to teach this and since then I have used it to teach other fun/novel tricks as well as 'serious' obedience stuff too. 
To get my girl to slow down I put it in the middle of my recall distance (she already knew what it was and how to 'work it' by doing commands and that the beep sound meant a treat)
it worked perfectly to slow her down and get her to understand "oh, you want to me stop _before_ I get to you". I faded it out by sometimes running to her with treats when she'd down and then moving it way off to the side of our training area. After a couple of reps I'd release her and we'd run over to it together for treats from both it and me.

Even if you don't want one of those there might be something in it to give you some ideas.

While you are teaching to her down at a distance I would at first go to her to reward while she is still in the down. Then reset her in her 'stay/wait' and walk away from her again. Don't put in the rest of the recall until she's got the down at a distance. It'll help keep her from anticipating coming to you later on.

I also taught one of my dogs to go to a mark (like an actors mark on a stage) and from there taught her that she could do commands at a distance because she knew she was supposed to be on that mark. I can moved the mark around as need be, even onto tables/walls and have her preform stuff. When I went to teach her the down on recall it was really easy, I think in part because of the 'go mark' training.


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## fairhavenmagick (Jan 19, 2011)

Oh, I forgot to mention-

Halo slowed down (some) on her own once she figured out I might be asking her to do something else before she got to me. 

But you don't want to slow them down too much or have them anticipate your command by pausing/stopping halfway to you so vary the distances you ask for the down and make sure you still do straight up recalls.


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## Searcher (Aug 7, 2009)

Why don't you always want your dog sprinting to you on the 'come' command? 
Is slowly coming an formal obedience test requirement? 

How about a different command for 'walk to me'?


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

not sure about reasons during obedience trials, but i remember reading a long time ago that the "emergency down" is one of the most important commands you can teach your dog, as it could one day help save your dog's life. i would imagine if you can't get a dog to go down in the middle of the come command (which is supposed to be just about the most powerful command one can give to a well-trained dog), then you don't have the emergency down under control. that's just me extrapolating from what i've read, though.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I don't want my dog sprinting to me if I know I am going to down him. My saying it more quietly is a signal to him to expect another command. When I give him my recall in my regular/louder voice he zooms over and it would be very difficult to down from a gallop. It also helps work up to downing from speed. Swizzle is great at dropping to a down from a run when I run beside him and keep on running but from recall we are currently working at a trot not a full out run.


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## milliesmom (Dec 15, 2012)

Thank you everyone for your detailed responses. I apprecite it so much. 

Patk- u r right I don't have the emergency down under control. That is why I asked for advice bc I'm having trouble with it. 

Searcher- I want my dog to be able to follow a command while she is coming to me. It seems that she has trouble following a command when she is sprinting (understandable). Teaching a walk command might be very useful .... However speaking softly does seem to help. 

Fair haven magic- I really haven't worked enough with commands from far away (besides stay) that is something I can step up. This is my first dog that I have trained beyond basic sit, down, and stay. 

Thank you!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

milliesmom - please let us know what works out best for you. i have never tried to train my dog to do a emergency down, but as we get more traffic where i live, i think i'm going to have to do it with the next dog. always interested in hearing what works best for people - or, more precisely, for different dogs.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

To teach drop on recall I used a bar from a utility jump on the floor as a marker for the drop. Anything that you can use as a marker for when you want the dog to stop will work. Another way you can work on it is to teach it as a moving down like in the rally sign "moving down, walk around dog." Heel along and tell the dog to down while it is at heel, but you keep moving and come around in front of them (in the rally sign you circle the dog). To finish the exercise you can take a couple of steps back and then call to front. Increase the distance as the dog gets better understanding. Then you can incorporate the drop into a regular recall.

I also use different commands for straight recalls and drop on recall. For a straight recall the command is "Lily front." For drop on recall the commands are "Lily come--drop--Lily front." I only use her name when I want her to move towards me. In utility go out is a no name order, but the directed jump is "Lily bar" or "Lily over."

Don't overtrain drop on recall or the dog will anticipate it and come way too slowly or end up dropping itself. Intersperse it with straight recalls.

Poodles generally are fast recallers so you need to know the dog will take your order promptly. This has bitten me more than once.


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