You didn't say how old she is. I am a strong believer in early obedience training. I start the day I pick up a 7 week old pup. The younger the pup, the shorter sessions need to be, only a few repetitions at a time at first. 10 minutes may be enough at 6 months, although basic obedience should be complete before then.
Down is a difficult one for the dog. It is a position of complete submission to you. Once you know the code, Shepherd ears tell all. The further down with the mouth closed, the greater the fear. With the mouth open and teeth bared, it shows a mixture of fear and aggression. One thing that may help is eye contact. Make eye contact, and give the command once if a quiet, but firm voice. Maintain eye contact. That puts you in the position of the higher status dog. Try a hand signal too. Hold your hand out palm down and slowly lower it. If she still doesn't comply, give a firm ''Bad dog!'', keeping eye contact. Whoever looks away first, loses. Pack structure is very important. The dogs see all the
people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in
the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members
outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by
reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class
or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with
a treat. Start at
http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/. You can't go wrong picking up a copy of the book The Art of Raising a Puppy.
If your dog is at least 4 - 5 months old, start with a good 6' leather leash and
a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain
ones with the rings on each end. You want the shortest one that will go on
and off easily. If you walk with the dog on the left, pull the chain through
one loop forming a "P". Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end
should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack
when there is no pull on the leash. Before 4 months, use a conventional flat
collar to protect the tender young neck.
All but the most recalcitrant young puppies can be controlled before they are 4 months old with the flat collar and patience. If you must have something more with a younger puppy, use a fabric restricted slip collar. These are sort of a cross between the conventional flat collar and the slip collar. Some of them are adjustable, Good for a growing puppy. They have a fabric loop at one end with a metal ring holding the other end in the loop, allowing it to slid back a forth. Find one, or adjust one to where it will go on over the puppies head, but will not tighten up past a snug fit around the neck. Put it on the same way as the metal slip collar. The service dog school my Pepper went to uses them on all their dogs, puppies and working dogs, except where they must use a head collar.
Most puppies will quickly catch onto walking on leash. A pull, or a few gentle snaps will get most of them moving. With some, it is best to face them, and coax them. Dogs, even within a breed, or litter, are not all alike. What works great with one, fails completely with the next. The younger you start, the better. I start with the walk from the kennel out to the car.
Here is a link to a picture of my Shepherd enjoying a visit from a Lab,
http://www.photolocker.net/images/La...llaplaying.jpg
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