dal sits poorly need help

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

We are working on obedience and Dal will not sit on command my trainer says one problem is he's gangly. I noticed if he sits on the linoleum he slides backward. Also when I get him to sit he pops back up or he may lay down during a stay exercise.

 

What is the best way to practice non facing sits? Should I try a clicker?

 

To his credit he does down stays well and I can stand him and walk all around him. He even did a figure 8 exercise well for a first time but,failed to sit on command each time.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Katelynn & Gang]

I'd start with a clicker, they make life so much faster and easier. lol

 

When you are doing the heel and come to a halt, bend your knees and push him into a sit while saying "sit" without leaning over him. Do this every time you come to a halt.

 

You'll get tired of it but so will he and he'll start doing it on his own.

 

Katelynn

[urge to herd]

As well, don't ask him to sit on linoleum, or any slippery surface for while. He's probably feeling a bit off balance if his butt is sliding out from under him, hence the popping back up. Get a solid history of 'sit' where he's not sliding around, and then re introduce sitting on a more slippery surface.

 

good luck!

 

Ruth n the BC3

[MaggieDog]

Are you sure his hips are ok? Sometimes dogs w/ something wrong structurally will have problems sitting for long periods and often that manifests in lying down or reluctance to sit in the first place.

 

Younger dogs also tend to sit oddly when they are all gangly as you mentioned so try setting it up so he can't sit off center by placing him in a corner or against a wall or panel jump.

[Kat's Dogs]

How old again?

 

Pups just don't have the muscle to hold a sit for very long - but that is usually gone by 8 months or so. With Dazzle when she was working on longer sit/stays (4 months about) she kept going into a down - she just physically couldn't do it. If that is the problem, correct it (put the dog back into a sit), praise, then say OK and be done with it.

 

If that isn't the problem (or even if it is:)) a clicker would be helpful - it always is!

Sometimes just going back to stage one in training the command will help too.

 

But like MaggieDog said, checking with a vet would be a good idea if anything else seems to be "off".

[Root Beer]

Here's an idea - it's one of the training exercises that I've done with all of my dogs to help with this. If you've previously loaded your clicker, it can be very helpful for this exercise.

 

1) Have your dog do some sits in front of you. If you are using clicker, click and treat every time his rump hits the floor. (If not using clicker, mark the behavior with a word like "yes" and treat)

 

2) Stand close to a wall, so your dog will be between you and the wall when the dog is at your side and lure your dog into heel position with food.

 

3) Once your dog is at your side use the food to lure your dog into the sit - if using clicker again click and treat every time your dog's rump hits the floor.

 

I would do this 3 - 5 times daily for a couple of weeks gradually fading the food lure and the clicker.

 

Once the dog is doing this well, I would also gradually move away from the wall.

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

But like MaggieDog said, checking with a vet would be a good idea if anything else seems to be "off".

 

 

before I agreed to take him He had a very through vet exam with a hip check so I dont think it's a hip problem. He's a large BC though very long like 27-28 inches neck to tail.

 

I will try everyones advice and Yes I will stay out of the kitchen even though it's probably my largest training area. I hope it gets warm here soon.

 

I've been reading a Pam dennison book and I have so many exercises I want to do with him. esp to tighten up his off lead stuff.

[Meg's mum]

Glad you asked this Sheryl, I think that I've confused Meg by not correcting her desire to down instead of sit when I ask for a sit. Trying to break her of going 'down' when I want a sit is mind boggling. I just haven't figured out how to 'correct' her without her getting that stressed out look like my husband does " this communication thing is really difficult for you isn't it" they seem to be saying. Sigh.

 

The heel lure to sit and clicker sound like great ideas! I've been avoiding the clicker up to now because I need the husband and I to be consistent and we've just started puppy obedience class.

[Recklessmom]

Reckless like to lay down better too. I don't mind if it is a stay. Sits are harder to hold for a longer time, and are not very comfortable. You should have seen his sit when he was a puppy. Back legs went everywhere, he was very lazy about it.

[2 Devils]

If you want to work on the kitchen, try doing sits against something so he doesn't slide.

[Root Beer]

Trying to break her of going 'down' when I want a sit is mind boggling.

Speedy went through a stage when he was not quite a year old where he would always down during a sit-stay and he would always pop up into a sit during a down-stay!

 

 

I just haven't figured out how to 'correct' her without her getting that stressed out look like my husband does

If it were me, I wouldn't 'correct' her at all at this point! I would shorten the length of the time that she needs to hold the sit-stay and give a lot of praise and rewards when she gets it right and gradually increase the distance that I stand from her and the amount of time that the sit needs to be held.

 

I know this is kind of a no-no, but when any of my dogs slide into a down in the middle of a sit-stay, I don't say a word. I just return to the dog with a neutral expression and lure the dog back into the sit with food on the nose without saying a word. The first couple of times, once the dog is back in the sit, I would say "stay" - wait just a couple of seconds and reward and gradually increase the time that I wait before rewarding.

 

Maddie, in particular, gets stressed over sit-stays. I find that staying close to her and giving frequent praise helps keep her from getting stressed.

 

There's another fun thing that I've done with my dogs to reinforce stays that can be done with a sit-stay, down-stay, or stand-stay. I'll explain it with the sit stay.

 

I get a chair (like a kitchen chair) and set it in the area where I am working with the dog. I get two pieces of food (I use something high value for this) and sit the dog facing the chair about 2 feet away from it. I say, "Stay!" and place one piece of food on the chair where the dog can see it. At first, the dog might pop up and try to run to the chair to try to steal it, so at first I would hold the dog's collar during the stay. After the dog has held the stay as long as I want him to, I say, "OK" and give the dog the food that I am holding in my hand. I pick up the piece on the chair and keep it (or use it again when I repeat the exercise).

 

Again, over time, this can be expanded and once you can let go of the dog, you can walk around the chair and then walk around the dog during the stay. You can also increase distance between the chair and the dog.

 

The thing to remember is that if the dog manages to break and get a freebie off the chair, no fuss or worries - just try again.

 

I've found this particularly effective in helping Speedy with stand-stays. The presence of the chair helped him focus at first so he didn't move his feet. He thinks of it as a game and doesn't even realize we are working on "Stay!"