Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a 1 year old GSD to do a long down stay in the house. The dog will platz for 20-30 minutes outside when there are things around he can concentrate on. But, in the house he will only
platz until he gets bored 1-2 minutes. Corrections do not seem to work and the dog gets frustrated and
becomes obstinate.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

maybe give him something to chew on, he is still pretty young, he may want to explore or watch you guys in the house not platz.

HOT DOGS <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ,
Well what I really mean is always have a buffet. Maybe you carry around a pouch full of hot dogs, or any other treat, and give one to him, pices of course <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> . His concerntration will always be on to you. he'll be like, "so you mean if I just lay here and relax I get fed, Great <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> " Because he is still young and his attention is still not all there give it to him every 2 to 3 mins. Expand the length gradually, he'll be fine.What Julia said will also be fine. Lots of luck.
Angela

Start with short downs and gradually move up the time frame.
Tell him to down, and immediately give him a treat when he obeys, but not until he does! (I usually put it on the floor between his legs). Repeat the word Down every 20 seconds or so and repeat the treat cycle too.
Start with 1 minute and work your way up every few days another minute or 2. Also , you can practice this with him several times a day, since it is such a short time frame.
But very important, DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO BREAK THE DOWN!! Have him on a leash with a prong collar, the second you see him start to rise give a strong correction.When he goes back down THEN say good down and give him a treat.DO NOT Repeat the down command before that time.., just correct and then good down when he is back in position.
Hope this helps!!

i guess i have to ask why you want your dog to do a long down in the house? i mean work is work and home is a refuge for everybody....even the dogs. maybe i'm wrong, but i am always disturbed when i read/hear of people using prong collars in the house, leash corrections, extended periods of time in a crate. if you use strong corrections on the training field and in the home as well, then where is the safe zone for the dog? no wonder a lot of dogs develop handler sensitivity. they don't trust the handler. i've said this before and don't mean to sound like a broken record, but dogs are smart enough that they need to see some sense to what you are asking of them. if you correct them, they need to know why. as a pack leader, you do have to earn their respect and be worthy of it. asking them to do dumb things is not going to get respect or the response you are looking for. when you ask them to go lay down, they need to know you are serious and that you are not asking just for the hell of it. and they also need to know that they better do it OR ELSE. the rule of thumb around here is that training commands are reserved for training and general conversation is used in the home. (only exception is when the dog blows you off, then you have the command to fall back on. what do you have to fall back on if you use the command the first time?)i don't mean to sound like i am directing this comment at any one person in particular, but in general for those who seem to think strict obedience is appropriate in the home/den.

Manners and obedience aren't only appropriate on the training field, IMO. I painted the living room last weekend - can't have 3 GSDs coating themselves in wet paint and it was pouring outside, so....platz. I strongly disagree that requiring some compliance in the home has anything at all to do with handler sensitivity or loss of "trust". That comes from incorrectly applied compulsion (too late, too painful, too inconsistent, etc). There are times for casual requests ("go lay down, buddy") and times for requiring compliance ("platz"). Neither stresses the dog in the least if trained properly.

Well said Lee.

Patricia, I cannot stress enough the importance of having a dog obey commands AT ALL TIMES, not just when it feels like listening.And it must be taught what proper behavior is, and the original posted is asking for help with this matter......

I will tell you also that when I tell my dogs to down I expect them to down no matter if we are in or out of the house, and to stay that way until I release them from that position, end of story!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

and i wonder where you got the notion that i thought it was okay to misbehave in the home???? did i not say "they had better do it OR ELSE!" i really wish people would read posts completely instead of picking out portions of the message, then trying to make it sounds as if the original post was saying something entirely different. here, i'll make it simple: i have never used a prong collar, e-collar, leash or any kind of device in my home to correct my dogs. i never will. i don't need to. my dogs are well behaved. every one of them have been. and, i think anyone who has to resort to this sort of thing in the home isn't much of a dog trainer. sorry, but if they were they wouldn't have to resort to the use of devices. enough said.

Patricia, if I misinterpreted you, sorry, but to me, your post seemed to be saying loud and clear that the dog should not be expected to do any "obedience" in the home. You asked why would you ever want a dog to do a long down in the house? Plenty of reasons! It's not a refuge, it's a privilege.

Jason,
Do you use a stopwatch? I found that when I was working on this with my young BCX, she was pretty predictable at which ten second time frame she would get out of her down (with the exception of me going out of sight; then she gets up immediately to follow; we're still working on that one). So what I started doing was reinforcing the downstay with a treat about ten seconds before that time frame. For example, if she usually gets up anywhere from a minute and forty five seconds to two minutes, I'd reinforce every minute and a half. Also, I'd start with a shorter time frame, like three minutes total, then work up to five minutes total, then eight, then ten, etc. That's all with me in the same room or in visual contact. Going out of sight is a totally different ballgame. Once the downstay becomes more reliable, you can randomize how often you reinforce. For example, you might come back and reward after only ten seconds, then stretch it out to two minutes, then thirty seconds, etc. That way, the dog never knows when it's going to come.

If she breaks, I just say "Nope" or "Wrong" and escort her back to her spot and back into her downstay, and start over.

For going out of sight, what I've been doing is just popping around the corner then coming right back. Over time, I'll delay how long I wait to come back around the corner by just a few seconds at a time until I hit the one minute mark, then I'll increase in 15-30 second intervals.