Wow some very good insight here.

I'm definately not professional - I'm just a newbie in training with a professional. He didn't give much information on the submissive dog down - my impression was that he wanted me to do it when she is acting most dominant. Before I was doing it right when I first let her out of her kennel as that is the time she really doesn't listen to me.

Before I would just put her down. The last thing I want to do is make her person-agressive and I am worried that forcing the down may do this. So today I started training her with treats to go to sit - to lay down - to me using as little force as possible to put her on her side and treat her for each step. She isn't where she will go to the submissive down on a command but I think I will try to do that using shaping and positive reinforcement.

The thing that I have really become aware of through this is that Sadie is an incredibly tense dog. The only time I see her relax is when she sleeps or when she is laying in front of the fire. I feel like she is too tense - I would like to have her more relaxed around me. I don't think a submissive dog down is the way to do it though. I think because she is deaf she is probably more anxious and less trusting.

So would I be making my own thread off topic if I asked for ideas for helping her relax? I'll also check out Ed's articles on fear agression as I think that is what she really has. I have an old male dog that she is submissive to and he has never done any dominance displays to her.

Thanks for reading my huge posts and writing huge posts in response - you guys are wonderful! Kelly

Hi Kelly, obedience is the key, hopefully motivational, it's worked with all mine. Sometimes people throw out there that its nothing to submissive roll a dog, all dogs are different and you can get in trouble with the wrong dog,
AL

Thanx Anne.

Kelly, my dog seems tense all of the time as well and he has all of his basic functions. I was given a bunch of sheets on how to get your dog to relax when I was with the Southern Maryland Dog Training Club. They gave me the basics, then I found Leerburg. My training excellerated and they were against some of my practices but to each their own.

If you PM me and remind me to get the info I'll try to find it when I get home. It is a very lengthy process and back then Bruno threw much larger issues in my face and I never really dove into the program but that doesn't mean it won't work.

Thank you for the opportunity to help.

Well here is the update - I've been training her to lay on her side by using behavior momentum of SIT and LAY DOWN which she knows with a handful of treats and then while she is eating the lay down treat pushing her to her side - pointing to her - and then giving her another treat. She has done very well with this and in just a few sessions she is almost doing it off of the hand command.

She does seem to be relaxing more to being on her side during this.

Tomorrow I take her to the kennel - today I was all worried about taking them to the kennel so I took the two older dogs tonight and will take Sadie in the AM. There is no way to take them all together. Well guess what my car DIED in the driveway of the kennel. The owner kinda lost it but was really nice after I started bawling. So the car was towed away. It's too much!

Anyhow sorry about the off topic rant at the end. Thanks again all for your help.

PS Anne knows how to teach pitbulls to handstand.