Hi Marilyn, I guess the puppy license just got torn up:-) Oh those bratty teenage months!
Check out the surfaces you're asking her to lie down on, are they cold or hard? Elbows can be sensitive and if any discomfort is felt she will quickly refuse to oblige the command to down. I would go back to basics and try food luring and see if she can do some puppy pushups for you without asking for a down stay. Kneel beside her so there is no part of your body towering or bending over her. My young male Titan is nearly sixteen months and decided that lying down in a class environment was not something he was mentally comfortable with. He is very sweet natured but at that age where he is not sure if he's a "man-dog" (he's a bit slow and hasn't discovered girls) so lacks the self confidence in himself to go into a "submissive" position in dog public. No problem at home with his gang. Someone tried to tell me he was being "dominant" but that is not his character rather he wasn't wanting to appear submissive but was wanting to please me so he sits in perfect heel position smiling up at me. My Olive is not the brightest bulb on the tree and would look rather stunned at my efforts to lure her into a down, so in the middle of the class I laid down on the floor pretending to enjoy my garlic flavoured heart treats and she slid into position so we were like two schoolkids enjoying a book. Another trick to the "down" is to monitor them closely in the house and surely at some time they are going to lie down and I pop in the command and praise as if it had been my idea:-) Rose Tierney
