Rat Terrier: Gettting to sit

[Chaoslillith]

Hey all,

As you know I teach at Petsmart. I have a dog that may be a bit of a challenge. It's a Rat Terrier, 6mths old and in the first class did not seem to comprehend the idea of sit. I use clicker training but the student stated that they bought the dog from a breeder who shows and did not seem to reinforce sit as the dogs get DQ for sitting in the shows. So if this pup has not really sat on command the first 6 months of it's life and was rewarded for standing this is going to be challenging.

I ran into the people today who stated that the dog has Watch Me and Come down very well but they still need to push the rear end down for the sits. We tried treat luring and the pup just backed up or stopped paying attention to the treat if he had backed up enough and wasn't getting rewarded.

Any ideas on what to do if they cannot get the pup to sit this first week between classes? All the other dogs in the class were sitting fine after the first class so I do not want the pet parents to get frustrated or feel embarrased. I know about the method of instead of pushing down on the butt to push the back legs in a bit to make the pup sit so as not to engage the oppositional reflex of the pup. I showed that to the pet parents.

Thanks,

Chaos

 

[Maxy24]

Could you have them wait for the dog to sit himself and click, treat when he does? I mean I'm sure he's sit...eventually. How long will he just stand there for? has the dog been trained to lay down? If so could you lure him from a down to a sit?

 

[adojrts]

I don't agree that it will be a challenge to train the sit just because he had been taught to stack or stand. You just need to go about it a different way.
I agree with Maxy, let the dog offer a sit in the home, mark it with the click and reward. If he gets c/r enough for sitting in the home, he'll start offering it more. Yes the click will stop the sit behaviour as he moves but given enough patience he will figure it out. Also working with him off leash would be best, considering that when on leash he was taught to stack/stand. So off leash he would be more willing to offer the sit.
Or he could be taught the down first and then lured up to a sit. Of course c/r'ing. No reason why the sit has to be taught first.

Lynn

 

[Chaoslillith]

I did tell them to try to catch him when he was sitting, he is a ball of energy though. I think when he was in class he that day he was either laying down or standing.

I will mention teaching down first and working off leash.

 

[houndlove]

How long have they had him? If he's only 6 months old but was at the breeder long enough to be taught to stand and stack, they can't have had him very long, right? Marlowe didn't sit for the first few weeks we had him either. He stood around until he layed down to sleep. It was weird but I think it might be what some dogs do in weird situations.

My trainer once showed me how she teaches greyhounds (notorious non-sitters) how to sit. She puts an arm around their butt and clicks them just for leaning back a little and then shapes that in to a sit.

 

[Chaoslillith]

No they have not had him very long, maybe 2-3 weeks. I will try the shaping idea!

Thanks

 

[lizzybeth727]

I agree with Maxy, too, just capture and click any time the puppy offers a sit at home. Many dogs have a hard time offering a sit in a group class, because they are so distracted and probably nervous. This is very common, especially when teaching down - I hate teaching down to my classes because the parents get so frustrated when their dog doesn't do it in the first two minutes of practicing in class. Although, if this puppy doesn't offer sits much at home, you can click for any time he offers a down, and teach down first that way.

Sit is actually not a natural behavior for adult dogs. Adult wolves very rarely sit. I have a friend whose dog will NEVER sit unless cued to sit (or when he's begging for a treat).

 

[Chaoslillith]

I called the people today and she stated he is sitting more at the home so she is capturing the behavior and trying to build on that.

Thanks for all the advice.