How to teach your dog to LAY DOWN.

Firstly, use your toy/treat motivation to guide your dog into a sit, then a lay down position.

Get their attention and put the motivator right in front of their nose. Move motivator up and back into a sit position.

Once your dog is sitting, use your motivator and make a line with it from the dog's nose to the ground, while saying "lay down".

Phase the motivator out and I encourage you to not only say the word "lay down", but also using hand signals as well. (The videos below show me using a motivator, then saying just the word, and finally, using a hand signal - I use my finger to point to the ground.)