How I Get my Dog to Lay Down

We got Dux about 6 months ago. Now, I knew very well what I was getting into. Having a puppy is a lot of responsibility and hard work. But this puppy, let me tell you, has been something else. With my puppy's intelligence and dutifulness also comes a smug, "I know what's really going on here" attitude.

When you have a dog, you just expect that you will be smarter than it. Such has been the case with millions of dogs and dog owners all over the world, since the beginning of time (or since dogs became domesticated...). After all, you are human being, dominant over all other forms of life. A normal dog accepts this willingly, its only prerogative to please its humans in every way it possibly can.

And I won't deny that this is the case for Dux. Except he was also born with this strange opinion that he's actually the one in charge, just patronizing his measly humans because he loves us so much (After all, we do give him food). So my puppy came into this world with two personalities: willing, eager to please us no matter what it takes, yet smug and self-assured. Combine all this with his freaky Australian Shepherd energy level that can only be described as crazy, and you get quite a predicament in training.

Laying down is by far his least favorite command. After all, lowering his body in a subservient manner beneath his humans would only be construed as submissive, and Dux is way too smart in his own mind to ever let that happen. Yet, he still wants us to love him and give him food. So it usually goes something like this:

The initial command. Easy.

He looks at me with this smug look on his face, as if saying, "Come on, we both know that's not gonna happen." But if you didn't know him, you would probably just think it was a blank stare.

A little more force in my tone, to let him know I really mean business.

He slowly raises his chin in a blatant act of defiance. "Nope."

Patience runs out. "I AM HUMAN! LISTEN TO ME!"

The turning point: when Dux's human-pleasing side of his brain finally switches on, and a look of terror becomes evident on his face. But he will still not be told what to do. There must be another option.

He will then almost always offer his paw in an attempt to please us, on his own terms. "I can shake, is that what you really wanted?????"

No.

His attempts become more desperate and pathetic, as he desperately wants us to be happy with him. He wags his paw in the air to no one in particular, hoping that eventually we'll decide his meager attempts are enough.

Shame finally kicks in. He bows his head in submission and accepts defeat, slowly completing the lay down command. Eagerness to please has won out in the end, but the smug part of him leaves him feeling defeated and depressed.

He'll lay there for a while, looking like he just found out his poor puppy world was going to end, throwing in a puny whine or two for added dramatic affect, then his self-assuredness will kick back in, and he'll start the process over again.