I teach the dog the down first by teaching the dog to sit. Basically… I tell the dog to sit, I pop straight up with the right hand and then guide the dog down with the left into the sit position and then you give the dog the release command.
For the Down… I tell the dog Down, I pop in a downward and forward direction with my right hand on the leash and with my left hand, I push right behind the dog’s shoulder… it’s kind of a pressure spot, where if you push down and rock, the dog’s legs will collapse under him and he’ll go down. And after guiding the dog through the behavior, you reach a point where the dog starts to understand and associate the command with what you want him to do and then you can stop with the physical part of actually touching the dog and just start popping the dog in the downward direction.
-Adam