Down!

My Gizmo is only a small dog and is so intelligent having learnt things in English and Chinese. He can do many things but the one thing he just will not learn and will not do is lie down on the floor??!??!?!?! My mother said it is a common problem with small dogs as they are so close to the floor that they don't feel the need to get down.
Has anyone else had this with a small dog? Any suggestions?
I've tried the putting him in that position, dragging food along the floor (he just follows lol), getting him to copy my mothers dogs but he just doesn't want to do it!

Does he lie down naturally on his own? (i.e. when he is on his bed)

If so, when he does this, say "good down" "down" keep using down when he does it and he should click to what you want him to do.

I had a Westie and he had no problem in it. I think it is just him being a tad stubborn.

You just need to find the right way to teach him. You will get there though

I tried that one too I shall try again though. He learns everything else within seconds, guess this is his lazy thing haha I mean his legs are only a few inches long haha he is practically on the ground anyways :P

We were told in our training classes, if they won't down (bearing in mind they are GSD's so not sure how much pressure you would put on yours) but if you put your hand (thumb pointing one way and fingers pointing others - like you are making the L shape with your hand) across the top of their back, just behind the shoulder blades, and push gently and this should make them down.

Don't put too much pressure though as you might hurt their backs, but a little is ok as it is a pressure point.

I know when they are small it can be difficult

capturing and rewarding when they are doing it anyway is a good way

I found with Mia it was easier with her in a standing position

Remembering from stand the dogs can kind of fold back in a diagonal down as their legs pivot I lured with the treat from her nose down and backwards - she got it pretty quick

know what you mean when I tried luring from a sit with Ben when he was tiny he just reached his head down and got the treat

the other thing I did was break it into steps
from the sit reward any movement of the feet outwards as that is what is needed to bring the body down

and just keep going, my two can learn some things super fast and some things (that the other one can get easy) just take longer or a different approach

I had similar problems with my little dog (she's a Japanese Chin), she was so close to the ground, she could just reach down for the treat without having to move!
I found a book specifically tailored to training small breed dogs which suggested starting from a standing position as Ben Mcfuzzylugs described.
I did this, and also popped Kindly onto a chair and using a treat held a couple of inches below the level of the seat, lured her into a down position. She had to bend her fore legs to reach the treat and started to grasp the idea (despite her limited brainpower!) Once she was doing it reliably on the chair, I practised it with her on the floor.

Yes I had the same trouble with my wee dachs, when she sits she is almost laying down, you just need to teach them differently. You have already been given some good tips so go with those. Best of luck!

also although my dog isnt small like yous, he refuses to down unless its on warm carpet !! he will never get his tummy on any pavement, grass, wood flooring etc - will only do it on carpet !!

Awww I dont blame him - Ben used to refuse to sit if the floor was wet

If you sit on the floor with a treat in your hand, with your knee raised a bit and offer the treat through the gap of the knee (this is really diffcult to explain) the dog will eventually lie down to try to wriggle through the gap to get to the treat. Immediately give the treat. When he does it consistently, add the word Down. Progress to doing it with a straight leg, then standing.