On all of my dogless traps the loose jaw always seems to be just that, loose. It sticks up a little more even after bending the lever to help it lay flatter.. I was wondering is there another way to make it lay flat so it's not loose or should I just put it towards the hole so it's not the first thing they step on?

It's always going to be loose. If you're bedding the trap properly, it doesn't matter which jaw they step on.

Rest the loose jaw on a swivel or chain then pack it with dirt solid, test it with your finger, if it moves pack it more until no movement is detected. What trap are you using?

Ok. I'll have to try the swivel trick this season.
Wolf creek #3 os

If you bed it properly that jaw shouldn't matter being the levers arent going to let the jaw move down while set. So if the base of your trap is SOLID the jaw should be fine.

Taper your bed a little so you can jam the base point in, and press the jaw in. If that makes sense. I advise to get out now, and practice a little.

If you make the trap bed the same size as the trap the critter won't step on the jaw.

Make the bed Just a little deeper. I then take my hammer and pack the dirt towards the jaws. If the soil is bone dry this doesn’t work as well. Fortunately, our soil always has some moisture in it.

A very common mistake made by many imo digging the trap bed bigger that the trap ,,,, deeper and smaller than the trap you can alway beat out the sides with a hammer to get trap to drop in .Teacher is spot on here.

I use a brick chisel It's about 4" wide and I can chop just about a perfect sized trap bed with It. And like teacher and red mt said a little hammer work will get It right.
I built one of those cookie cutter trap bed makers but It was just way to much stuff to haul around.

I also have alot of sandyish areas that I trap. So there goes the chisel or cookie cutter idea.
Like the idea of making it alittle smaller though