The American Beagler Forum

My 8 mo. old pup will down in the house and on leash, but what is the best way to teach down when a hound is in the field without using an e-collar? When she's hunting it seems she forgets all of her commands except check, check,check... which she does very well!

what steps n how long did it take to teach the down command in the house jb

You have a good start, now start making her down at a distance in the house and yard. Let her drag the leash so you can go and correct her when she doesn't do it. Start off when she's a few feet away from you and increase the distance and add distractions as she progresses.

Chris

The best way is to start from scratch, teaching her the down the way you did when you first started her training. Only do it in different areas. Yard, varying rooms of the house, outside on the leash - as many places as you take her, practice the "down" with her. Sometimes, they start to associate the command with a certain place - say if you always train her in the kitchen, she'll start to think that's the only place she needs to do it ...

Thanks for the replies. Since it has been a good while since I made this post things have changed a lot. She just comes to me when I call her and sits down in front of me to get leashed up so she figured out exactly what I wanted from her without the e-collar. She did that the first time I told her I was leaving and turned and walked away from the field. If I'm goin' she thinks she's supposed to be goin' too!! LOL