Training the Down Command To The The Nervous Dog
A nervous dog gets hyper-friendly or hyper-frightened when he's touched in training. The friendliness is masking an inner panic that is only revealed when the dog has the chance to get away or is forced to do something he views as unnatural.
This kind of dog should be worked when he is hungry. Feed him lightly in the morning of the day before and then train him on the following afternoon. He can eat his ration in the training routine from your hand. Walk him on the lawn, then pause and kneel next to him and offer him some food.
Get him to make contact on your level and then touch him as he eats. If he seems to be relaxing, start to move from resting place where the handling and touching occurs. The running will burn up some of the dog's nervousness and lessen his negative feelings about the training.
When he seems at his calmest, train him to down with food. Every time he lies down and starts to overreact, break away and run to the resting station so that his nervousness is quickly converted into a purer form of drive expression. Slowly, you are getting him to see his group instinct as a means of success instead of a survival instinct.
Study your dog and determine what activity he seems the most relaxed in, the most free when doing, and use that as a reward for him when he chooses calmness.