Crawling adds forward movement to a down. A stay asks for stillness.
Start down
Check that this movement is physically appropriate; the AKC's trick guide advises asking your vet when unsure. Begin with a familiar down, taught separately in our down lesson.
Have a reward your dog currently values ready. Battersea stresses rewarding promptly when the intended action happens.
Reward forward travel
With your dog down, move the food lure ahead in roughly one-inch increments. Reward each forward crawl. This is the AKC's gradual sliding-lure method, not an instruction to pull the dog along.
Reward the body moving, rather than a nose reach alone.
Name it
Once the dog is performing the movement, introduce your chosen name while they crawl, following the AKC's cue timing.
Keep that label distinct from down or stay. This lesson does not establish a crawl on a spoken cue alone.
Reset or finish
If your dog stands, the AKC recommends luring back into the down position before trying again.
When learning becomes difficult, Blue Cross recommends a pause and reconsidering the task before a later attempt. Use reward-based methods; do not push or hold the body down.
Finish instead of demanding a distance target.
