Ok, I've run into yet another wall with Astro.
I took him to a beginner's rally/obedience class, and we did the basic stuff you would expect (working on very short heeling sessions, fronts, eye contact, attention and focus). Astro backs up when he sits, every single time, so he's always way behind me when he sits beside me to get ready to heel, and he backs up so far away for the front sits that there's no way I'd be able to reach out and touch him.
The trainer gave it a whirl with just luring him, and he thinks she's asking for vertical movement (sit pretty). We've tried asking him to sit and then keeping the treat in close so he has to move in to get it, nothing.
At home, I've tried using a perch/book/bowl and up against the wall. No goes. He spins around like a top on the perch, and gets frustrated, and will eventually sit (if I repeat the command a few times, which I loathe) but take his front feet off the perch. I've even tried just pushing his hind end down, and consequently ruined a lot of the body desensitization we've been doing...he squirmed away after a few times, even though I had food, and won't let me touch his back end now.
Every thing we try, I wind up poisoning some previously strong command, and it's making me insane. Our perchwork is all weird now, and he's clearly stressed by it when before, he was fine with it. The command "sit," probably the most basic in existence, is now confusing to him because he's done it so, so many times and not gotten rewarded for it.
HELP! I never see him sit without backing up like 3+ steps, so I really just think he lacks the body awareness/muscle memory to do it.
I took him to a beginner's rally/obedience class, and we did the basic stuff you would expect (working on very short heeling sessions, fronts, eye contact, attention and focus). Astro backs up when he sits, every single time, so he's always way behind me when he sits beside me to get ready to heel, and he backs up so far away for the front sits that there's no way I'd be able to reach out and touch him.
The trainer gave it a whirl with just luring him, and he thinks she's asking for vertical movement (sit pretty). We've tried asking him to sit and then keeping the treat in close so he has to move in to get it, nothing.
At home, I've tried using a perch/book/bowl and up against the wall. No goes. He spins around like a top on the perch, and gets frustrated, and will eventually sit (if I repeat the command a few times, which I loathe) but take his front feet off the perch. I've even tried just pushing his hind end down, and consequently ruined a lot of the body desensitization we've been doing...he squirmed away after a few times, even though I had food, and won't let me touch his back end now.
Every thing we try, I wind up poisoning some previously strong command, and it's making me insane. Our perchwork is all weird now, and he's clearly stressed by it when before, he was fine with it. The command "sit," probably the most basic in existence, is now confusing to him because he's done it so, so many times and not gotten rewarded for it.
HELP! I never see him sit without backing up like 3+ steps, so I really just think he lacks the body awareness/muscle memory to do it.