Teach an older sheltie to bow

Lure / pose but don't expect the kind of deep arch of a younger one. Even Melli can do it and she is old and chubby. I found bow really hard to teach, actually. I had to find the right thing to motivate them. Melli was treats. She doesn't have the best bow but it is a bow. Cubby it was his desire for a toilet paper tube. We did the lure forward - hand under the belly quite a few times before he really nailed it wanting that toilet paper tube. Another thing is don't call it bow. Too similar to down. Call it something else, anything else, kneel, for example. Don't know if that helps.
 
I taught my sheltie to bow by giving the command when he did a play bow and then treat him. If a dog doesn't usually play bow, and especially if it's an older sheltie and the trick is more difficult to teach than others, I would suggest a doggie chiropractor. My sheltie who usually picks up on things in less than 4 repetitions was really struggling to learn "beg". I took him to a chiropractor for another reason and she found his SI joint wasn't properly aligned. So his difficulty with beg was actually a sign that he was in pain and our chiropractor said this type of thing isn't uncommon since dogs tend to try and hide thier discomfort. After the adjustment he learnt beg in three repetitions.
 
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