How to teach a tuck sit

96 GTS

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#1
Yes, this is actually Ryan :p

Anyway, Frodo rock back sits, like, hardcore. He's physically able to sit with his feet tucked under him, and he does occasionally. I think it's just easier for him to rock back. Anyway, it just bothers me, so I'd like to try and get him to sit more properly. Any training tips? I was thinking of only rewarding him when he tuck sits, but he offers it so rarely that it probably wouldn't work. Any other ideas?
 

CharlieDog

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#2
Lure it possibly, then capture at the moment he brings his back feet forward into the tuck sit. This is one of the ways I got Knox to tuck sit. Hold the reward up high, so that he smells it, but close enough that he doesn't feel the need to move his front feet forward, and move it slightly back towards his tail end to bring him into the sit. Click at the moment he starts bringing his rear feet into the sit. I'd not give any sort of command the first times you're doing it until he's offering a tuck sit vs rock back.

And I know how you feel. Ozzy rock back sits most of tthe time and and nearly always ends up out of heel position. Drives me batty as Enzo and Knox both have really nice tuck sits :p

It worked for Knox, but ymmv
 

MericoX

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#3
I've asked a few people (not on chaz) who to train a tuck sit and it was suggested to me to have them sit with their back up to a wall or corner, so they basically can't move backwards to sit. Someone also mentioned to use a platform.
 

ihartgonzo

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#4
Fozzie used to rock back into a sit before Rally... and he was all slouchy. It must be a lazy munchkin thing!

What really helped him was practicing against a wall, like MericoX said. I also practiced lots of sits from a down over and over, because he never steps back when he's already in a down, he just props himself up. When first starting, I lured him a lot, because I find that waiting for the dog to sit instead of directly showing him how you want him to sit produces sloppy sits. After practicing that over many sessions, I would only click/treat the tuck sits. To teach a foldback down I lured his nose down to his chest, into a "bow" position and click/treat as soon as his rear end committed to a down. Foldback downs just look so much better and ensure that they don't leave their position at all. To teach a kickback stand, I use a lure and drop it quickly from nose to sternum, which for most dogs makes them raise their rear without creeping forward.
 

PlottMom

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#5
I would just like to say that in a houseful of seriously deranged and more or less useless dogs, LIZ HAS A NATURAL TUCK-SIT!!!


Nevermind it's because she LIKES to tuck her tail under & sit on it, so it looks like she has some strange long skinny weenie :rofl1:

You should see when she sits & wags...

/end sort-of-brag
 

SaraB

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#6
Platform training. Get a book or something raised that is just big enough for him to sit squarely on, or you can start with something bigger and make it smaller and smaller. Shape him to stand and then eventually sit on it. This will create the muscle memory of a tucked sit and can help him correctly sit in other situations increasing his rate of reinforcement rather than just hoping to capture him sitting correctly. You will of course have to fade the platform.

For Classic since I didn't have something he could stand and sit on because he's so big, I just trained him to sit with his front feet on a food dish. He couldn't back into a sit and keep his feet on the dish so it created the same effect, muscle memory for a tucked sit.
 

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#7
Excellent! Thanks for all the replies, I will keep this updated as time goes on :) Also, since Frodo has been rocking back for 6 or so years when he hears sit, should I be using a different command when teaching him to tuck?
 

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