| Typist: Bethany Downward facing dog is such a wonderful shoulder, chest, back and leg stretch for dogs (and humans, for that matter) of all sizes and ages. Training your dog to do downward facing dog or bow is one of the easiest tricks to teach through shaping* because most dogs naturally do downward facing dog stretches several times a day. Dogs like to get in their daily doga! An observant trainer simply labels the stretch with a cue word such as "bow," marks the "bow," and gives the dog a reward upon seeing their dog in a downward facing dog position. All three of my dogs are quite good at a "bow" because I have been shaping it since they were puppies. One mistake I made, though, was that I used to call it "downward facing dog." I am a certified yoga instructor, after all. |  Huxley practices his "bow" with distractions. |
Of course I want my dogi dogs doing proper doga! But I learned in a Freestyle workshop that my cue confused my already-wondering-if-I-wanted-him-to-"down"-or-"bow"-dog. That dog was Brychwyn and he still has the weakest bow of our trio. I did change my cue to "bow." The most creative cue I have heard for a downward facing dog position is "tah-dah."
| If you have a dog that doesn't consistently do a downward facing dog stretch on their own, you can use the lure method of training teach a "bow." We often lured dogs into a "bow" in my Dogalates classes. With your dog in a standing position, hold a treat in front of their nose. Now move the treat slightly back and slowly down. You want to move the treat back and move slowly so the dogs head stays up and they don't confuse this lure for a lure into a down. Pay close attention because most dogs will lay down so before their rear end goes down, mark and reward the brief "bow." (You don't have to put a word to it yet, though.) If your dog tolerates being touched near the belly, you can place one hand under your dog, near the hind legs, and gently help your dog keep the rear end in the air while you lure the front end to the floor. Never push on your dogs shoulders to force a downward facing dog position; a "bow" is already stretching your dogs shoulders and pressing on them risks injury. Once your dog knows this trick, however, massaging your dog while they hold the stretch will likely make your dog very happy! Huxley loves me to massage the back of his legs while he is in a downward facing dog stretch. Brychwyn likes me to rub all around his shoulder blades. And Wilhelm likes a low back rub while in a "bow." |  "Stand"  "Bow," "Stay"  |
Even if your dog already does daily downward facing dogs, I highly recommend teaching your dog to do the stretch on cue. Tynan continued doing his downward facing dog stretches until his last days. I think he partly did them because I asked him to but once he was in the stretch it did feel good. A good yogi knows that their teacher will only ask them to do poses that they need and that will benefit them, even when the yogi is an amazingly fit dog.
 "Sit" |  "Stand" |
"Bow"
*The shaping method of training put simply is when a pet offers a desired behavior, the trainer marks, or clicks, and rewards, hence shaping the behavior wanted through positive reinforcement.This method allows pets to more completely learn a behavior because they learn it themselves through critical thinking as opposed to be shown how to do it.
Does your dog do downward facing dog?
A to Z Challenge: Yesterday was C for Changes: Preparing Pets For Travel, tomorrow E is for Each: Spending Special Time With Each Pet In A Multiple Pet Household.
| Do you want to read more positive based training tips? Do you have positive training advice to share? Please join Tenacious Little Terrier, Dachshund Nola and us this Monday, April 7th for our Positive Pet Training Blog Hop.  | It brings us great joy to wish FitDog Friday a Happy One Year Anniversary! We are proud to have joined SlimDoggy, Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love for one year of blog hopping aimed at helping dogs get and remain healthy and fit.  |
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