Dog Health Questions: Dog not quite getting the difference between "Sit" and "Lay Down"?

When I ask Newman to "Sit", he sits. Good, right? But then once I reward him (getting sprayed in the face with the hose- yes, he LOVES it more than treats or praise) he goes and lays down. When I ask him to lay down, "Down", he will go right to laying down. Also good.

My concern is when I ask him to "Sit". He will sit, but then lays down after being rewarded. I'm assuming this is undesired. Do I wait until he has a perfect grasp of "Sit" before weaning him off of laying down afterward? Should I nip the behavior in the bud now, and if yes, how should I go about this?

Dog training is not my forte...

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Recommended Answer:
Most people that train would recommend that as soon as he starts to lay down that you should pull straight up on the leash until he is back in position, or use the leash to make him stay in position, treat and then release him,you could also command, treat and then pull him into a stand instead of giving him a chance to chill. The idea is to have him hold position until released.
Now in your situation use the hose to spray him from underneath to keep him from laying down, LOL hell it sounded good when I thought of it.BTW what is your water bill? LMAO at Newman and you.

8 Dog Training Tips For Dog Lovers

• When you were teaching him sit and down did you make him sit then reward him and then make him go into the down position? I did when i first got my pup eventually he started cutting the sit out all together. So I just popped his leash on and every time he went to go into the down position i just corrected him. Now his sit/downs are good but could probably due with being a bit quicker.


• If you are only training for yourself and not competition, then unless it is a problem, ignore it. Down has always been difficult for my dog, and since I trained him for safety and convieniece, a sit or a down is just as good to keep him danger.


• try hand signals and wait a while before rewarding him. if you reward to fast he will think that when you say "sit" you mean to sit for 3 seconds or so, if that happens you might as well not train him at all.


• When he starts laying down, take the hose away and say "no sit" or "sit up". Then, reward again and repeat as needed.


• depends on what you want
  i just don't reward if they down unless i ask for it.


• I would nip in the bud. I'm not sure what method of correction you're using, but I use a tug upward on the leash with an "EHeheh!!" noise until he's sitting again. I'm a big proponent of "sit means sit, down means down, here means here, etc" school of thought. Now you're teaching him that sitting, then laying, is what you want. You want a sit when you say "sit." Being a little strct with what you ask makes the lines clear- he knows what you want, you get what you ask for.
  
  I use a prong, and Remi started doing the same- I'd gotten him in the habit of sitting, then asking for a 'down,' so he started going to sit, then straight to down. I then corrected with a leash pop and re-affirmed "sit" command. For us, it really has helped keep his focus on me when he's sitting (what I want), and made clear what I want from commands.
  
  hope that helps! good luck!