i have always heard that if you are using treats to teach...then you can use them to your advantage. example: if you are teaching to sit, then you hold the treat in between your forefinger and thumb and slowly move the treat behind (but still above) their head so that they are following it and say "sit" over and over again as you do it. most of the time, this will cause them to sit cuz they are watching the treat. then you praise them when their butt hits the ground LOL
to teach them to lay down, it's the same kind of thing. when they are sitting, you take the treat and slowly move it between their front legs and this should cause them to lay down. then, you praise the heck out of them for laying down
it's always worked for me...but every dog is different
