Hi, my 5 month old springer is coming on well with his training but I cannot get him to go down on command, he will do everything else like sit, leave etc and his re-call is good but no matter what I try he will not go down. Any suggestions.

A trick I saw a police dog handler do once for a persistant no-downer, was to crouch on the floor with the dog sitting to one side, put one leg out in front, leaving just enough height for your dog to crawl through and hold a yummy treat on the other side of the hole, your dog will have to get into the down position to get through, so you can say down, maybe with a hand on his shoulders to get him used to the idea - I know it sounds strange but it really does work for most dogs. Remember though he is only 5 months and some things come quicker than others.
Hayley

That's how we got Nikki to go down. She's only a little dog though, so I could sit down, with one leg outstretched, knees up, so she had to go 'down' under my leg. You kinda pull the treat through your leg from behind if that makes any sense and the dog follows.

Patience is required to get a down. It is a submissive posture that some dogs don't like doing, it scares them.

Try using a small treat. Get him to sit, then put your hand under his nose and move it slowly to the floor, slightly forward but between his paws so that he has to lie down to get it. The instant his bum comes off the floor, take your hand and the treat away and start again.

Once he is there, give him lots of love, but gently so that he doesn't jump up in excitement.

He'll soon get the message that its not a scary thing to do. At 5 months he's still a baby and springers are very wriggly.

Both the methods mentioned above can work with practice. What you can do to naturally reinforce the word with the action (and this works for the sit as well) is to give him the command 'down' and gentle praise when he goes to lie down of his own free will.
Every time he lies down just say the word with a 'good boy' :)
Lara x

5 months is plenty early enough. Just take your time. There's no prizes for rushing. If he won't do it, he probably isn't ready.. Forget it for a couple of weeks and try again.

Sandie - can you describe what technique/s you are using that isn't/aren't working?