quicker sits

[champagne]

How do I get Kaine to sit quicker? When we are out walking and we stop he knows he supposed to sit and does. But Kaines sit goes something like this....."ok I know I'm supposed to sit so la-la-la-la, I'm working on it, halfway there la-la-la-la, ok my butt is just about there, la-la ok my butts on the ground,wheres my treat?"

Right now we are doing the three step halt. Go three steps and then I turn and slide my hand down his back to get him to sit quicker. It really doesnt seem to be working. When left up to him his sits are still slow.

Kaines in advanced obedience class now and the trainer said when we are ready to begin walking again Kaine has just barely sat or is still working on it.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks

 

[Mordy]

are you using a clicker? it really works well to sharpen up response times.

but even if you don't use one, you can work on it by simply only praising/rewarding the dog for "fast enough" responses. if he's too slow, he gets a "too bad" and you turn away from him and move on.

count the seconds it takes him to sit and slowly shorten your "reward requirement". don't expect too much too fast.

practice this in many different situations, not just while heeling. start in the environment with the lowest possible distraction level (e.g. a hallway at home) and slowly move on as things improve.

 

[bridey_01]

A clicker would definetly help. At this point in his mind he may actually think sit means "slowly lower my butt to the ground". It's funny the way they pick up commands and attach other bits to it (such as the slowness). We had one lady in class who always said "Down, down! Oh for God's sake down!" and her dog learnt that that entire sentance meant down, and wouldn't adopt the position until she had said the whole thing!

 

[champagne]

I do have a clicker here and started to use it when he was young but for some reason I havent brought it back out even though I have intended to. I guess it was b/c I really didnt know how to use it (correct timing). Exactly when and how would I start the process of clicking and treating to get the quicker sits?

if he's too slow, he gets a "too bad" and you turn away from him and move on.

We have just started doing this and I think right now he is a little confused as to what we are wanting b/c he is sitting (eventually). We will keep trying.

He does do really great sits on a come command if the treats are extra special. Maybe I could start there and praise like crazy and tell him "good sit" and click ? Then take that to his heel? maybe then he will understand better what we want?

 

[skyhigh]

i taught my pup to sit quickly by getting a treat and quickly raising it behind the dogs head. she dits really quickly now. as to my other dog. slow, slow and slower. lol. im working on it

 

[Mordy]

He does do really great sits on a come command if the treats are extra special.

you'll definitely want to use the highest-possible motivator to work on sharpening up response times. it'll make things so much easier. and always praise, praise, praise!

when using the clicker, keep in mind that "the click ends the behavior", meaning it doesn't matter whatever the dog does after you clicked - he has earned his reward already. so you'll want to click as soon as his haunches hit the floor and he's in a proper sit. if you were just teaching the sit, you'd click the downward motion towards the floor, but since he knows what sit is aready, you need to mark the moment he actually sits.

make it easy in the beginning and click for a response time that is currently "normal" and very gradually increase your expectations. use a "no reward marker" ("uh-oh", "too bad" or "ah-ah" etc. in a neutral tone) to communicate that the behavior wasn't quite what you wanted. if turning and walking away is too confusing yet, just do something else that distracts the dog for a moment so you can try again.

over time you want to add more distractions, like engaging the dog in a play session, getting him all worked up and giving the sit command now and then. only reward when the response is quick enough, otherwise just keep playing and try again.

i've used this method to work on the "down" with my own dog, because it's something he doesn't particularly like to do. now it's the greatest game for him. his biggest motivator for it is a tennis ball.