Training Downs 202

Here is a second look at training ex-racing greyhounds to down using my foster dog, Sahara. Check out Training Downs 201 if you have not already (click here).  This is just more of the same and showing you his progress.  This is from his third training session.  I give a lot more detailed instruction in my Greyhound Downs 101 through 104 so this time I am trying to give you a feel for my thought process when I am working with a new greyhound.

The goal for this session was to get Sahara to lure into a down a few times (instead of crawling under my leg) and for me to get a little further and to move a little more while he stays down.

Training Downs 201

Here is another look at training ex-racing greyhounds to down and down stay.  Of course, this method would work on most large dogs.  I always teach ex-racers to down from a stand since they may or may not have a good sit... although I think it is really silly to have to sit your dog first and then down.  They should all down from a stand. 

One of the big differences in training an ex-racer versus any other dog is that they rarely respond to pressure.  If you try to pull or push them into a down, greyhounds resist and lock up.  It rarely works.

I also think they have to "learn to learn".  Their entire lives have been about routines and good habits (which is why they are often better pets than those raised by Joe Average dog owner, in my opinion).   Racing greyhounds are not really asked to do anything so responding to a cue is completely foreign.

I start teaching down by luring my greyhound under one or both legs.  Depending on the height of the dog, I may sit on the ground, on a bucket, or a chair without arms (you need to be able to swivel).  This is Sahara's 2nd session.  He had already worked for a few minutes on a prior day so you are going to see him lie down faster than your own greyhound might.  Just remember he has had a few extra minutes of practice.  I am also clicker training which you do not have to do, but it does make your training more precise.  My goal here is to get Sahara to lie down and then to continue to reward him for staying down for as long as he offers.

Notice that I am mostly quiet.  I am not giving him any verbal cues and not distracting him with chatter.  He will be taught a hand signal first anyway.  Remember to reward your greyhounds for poking his head under your leg and for putting his elbows on the ground.  You want to reward all of his steps in the correct direction and not just focus on the full position initially.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Greyhound Downs 104

Check out Greyhound Downs 101 and Greyhound Downs 102 and Greyhound Downs 103 if you have not already.

Once my greyhound understands my release word, easily responds to my down cue, and yields to a little collar pressure, I start working on proofing my stay.

I once saw an extreme obedience reality show on Animal Planet. One of the tests was to place your dog into a sit stay and then an elephant was brought in very close. Obviously, none of these handlers had prior opportunities to practice stays with an elephant as a distraction. However, the successful dogs had been proofed enough that they trusted that they should remain seated and ignore the elephant in the room. This is why proofing is so important. Proofing convinces the dog to start generalizing. Initially, a dog will use anything as an excuse to get up. But as your training progresses, there is a point when the dog will start to choose to remain in the stay despite the new distraction. I would bet that Katie could stay with an elephant in the room.

Here is a video clip of some basic proofing to start you off.

I honestly do not tell my dogs to stay until they are really offering good down stays.

Greyhound Downs 103

Check out Greyhound Downs 101 and Greyhound Downs 102 if you have not already.

I want to remind you that once your greyhound is down, continue to reward him for maintaining the down. Do not ask him to stay yet, but simply reward it for as long as he offers. I like to mark these moments with a clicker or a "yes". Both mean "that is right and I am giving you a treat for it".

At some point your greyhound may realize that lying there is a pretty good deal and resolves to stay there forever. Time to teach a release word. I use "done". "Done" means you are free to go.

When I teach a release word, I touch the collar with one hand, lure the dog out of the down with a treat in my other hand, and say "done".

Get in the habit of releasing your greyhound, so he does not develop a habit of releasing himself. So if you think your greyhound is about to pop up, release him. You are finished training or ran out of treats, release him.

Greyhound Downs 102

Go to Greyhound Downs 101 if you have not already seen this post.

Let me introduce today's demo greyhound, P's Stacker FCh (age 10). Stacker ran in the money in several Grade A races at Gulfstream and Birmingham. My husband adopted him sometime before he and I met. Stacker transitioned to lure coursing and won the Southeastern Greyhound Club's coveted Texas Trophy in his rookie year and won the 2004 ASFA Region 7 Best of Breed trophy, The Brandy Cup. He now roams the shore and trails of Lake Allatoona with Stephen and his other hounds.

The next step to teaching downs is to establish a good hand signal. Remember, we are not using a verbal cue yet. I do not want to use a verbal cue until I am certain my greyhound will respond to my hand signal 99% of the time. Here is how I progress from my greyhound crawling under my "bridge" to responding to a hand signal. Some greyhounds progress faster than others.

Once my greyhound easily lures into a down, I like to teach him to respond to collar pressure. If you have ever tried to push a greyhound into a sit or pull him into a down, you probably know that they do not naturally yield to the pressure. If your greyhound is willing to yield to collar pressure, it makes correcting much easier later. In the future, if I am ignored or my greyhound breaks a stay, yielding to collar pressure makes it very easy to gently correct him back into a down position. Therefore, I find it worthwhile to explain to my greyhound how to respond when a little collar pressure is applied.

Please note that I am simply putting a little weight on the collar. I am not going to force or fight with my greyhound. If he begins to struggle, I maintain light pressure, but allow him to move his head. Remember you are using a treat in this step and prior steps (I will explain how to get treats out of your hand in a later post).

Greyhound Downs 101

Class, today we learn about teaching greyhounds to lie down. First, let me introduce the student, Basso Profondo. I needed a greyhound subject who did not have a lot of training. Basso Profondo is a 6 year old coursing greyhound from England. He was the winner of the 2005 Waterloo Plate and 3 other stakes in his rookie year. Basso ran 16 courses that year and won 15 of them. That is big deal stuff! He came to the U.S. in 2006 - Greyhound Data Link.

Next, I have one anal rule for greyhound downs. I always teach greyhounds to lie down from a stand and for the rest of their lives, I only request downs from a stand. I never ever ask for a down from a sit position. Sits are already very difficult for many greyhounds and most of them would prefer to lie down. You can ruin a good sit by practicing and rewarding downs from the sit position. Your greyhound will forever be happy to melt into a down.

For those of you that compete in obedience and are wondering if I adhere to this rule for group stay exercises.... Yes. When the competitors line their dogs up in preparation for the long down stay, I am the only with a standing dog. Everyone else sits their dog before the judge cues us to down.

Let us get started. First, create a bridge for your greyhound to duck under. With Basso, I am down on one knee, but you can sit on a chair or a stool and bring both legs forward. Lure your greyhound with a treat under your leg(s), so he has to crouch. Be quiet! You are teaching a hand signal first. Chanting the word "down" over and over will not speed up the process.
I reward the greyhound for each step in the right direction he makes. First, I reward for ducking his head. Then I reward for elbows touching the ground and so on.Sometimes the rear end gets stuck in the air. I might place my hand on the greyhound's rump just to bring his attention to the area, but I never put pressure and try to force him down. Just let him get tired and he will eventually fold. This is a good time to jackpot and give the greyhound multiple treats so he knows that you really like this position.
Once your greyhound is down, get off of him. Move your leg(s) so he is not trapped if he decides to stand up.Lastly, I continue to reward the greyhound as long as he remains lying down. I want him to realize there is not rush to stand up and that I will keep rewarding if he holds his position.

When my greyhound is a super star at luring under my legs, I will try and lure him down with a treat while I squat down. Once he is a super star at that, I start ask for downs as I gradually move myself into a more upright position. The verbal cue is added much later.

Lastly, here are a few parting notes. This method generally does not work for greyhounds you never see lay in a sphinx position (see above picture). Some are just not comfortable. During training, if your greyhound lies down in any other position, rolled hip or flat out, awesome! Don't change a thing. Also, something like string cheese or a hot dog is a good treat for training the initial steps to down. The greyhound can nibble off bites as he ducks his head under you legs, another nibble for elbows down.... and so on.