Take a seat

Information copied from
Book- Dog Tricks( Fun and games for your clever canine). By Mary Ray & Justine Harding. Published by Hamlyn.

TAKE A SEAT



The Lesson: Your dog sits on command, whether he is standing or lying down.

To perform tricks, your dog needs to be agile and able to move between different positions easily, especially if you want him to do a sequence of moves. The basis of many tricks will be a sit, so as well as doing this on command, he needs to be able to move into sit from whatever he was doing before.
Teaching your dog to sit from any position is all about positioning his nose correctly, as this will influence how he moves his hindquarters. If your dog’s nose is held high, it is physically easier for him to keep his hindquarters low.

1) Hold a treat in the underhand position at your dog’s nose level and call your dog so that he is standing in front of you at arm’s length.


2) In one smooth, steady movement, rotate your hand to the overhand position and raise it straight above your dog’s nose, before pushing it out towards your dog’s tail. His nose will follow upwards and then tip back slightly, making it easier for him to drop his hindquarters. As soon as he moves into a sit, click or praise. Once he is sitting, give him his reward. Repeat until your dog understands the move, then add in the ‘sit’ command just before you click.



3) The same principle is used to get your dog to sit from a lying position. First, hold the treat in the underhand position near to his nose.



4) Move your hand steadily upwards so that your dog raises his nose, changing into the overhand position to bring him up to full stretch.



5) Now push your hand steadily upwards and backwards so that, to follow the treat, your dog has to push himself upwards and step backwards with his front legs into a sit. Click just before he reaches the sitting position and reward once he’s there.



(This trick is written with the usage of clicker. Clicker can be replaced with praise like ‘good’ or ‘ok’ )

Key Points
. As you move your dog from a down to a sit, make sure he doesn’t stand first before sitting. You are aiming for him to hinge upwards in one, smooth move.
. When teaching your dog to sit from a down position, stand up rather than crouch.
. When asked to sit from standing, small dogs often find walking backwards easier. To overcome this habit, break the move down, clicking first for just a slight lift of the nose, again when the head tips back, then again when the hindquarters drop a little and so on. You can also position your dog where there is a wall behind him, so that backward movement when sitting is limited.

Sitting Styles
Did you know that from a standing position dogs can sit in two different ways? Those favouring a ‘forwards’ sit keep their front legs still and bring their hindlegs under them to meet their front paws. Big breeds and those with a ‘stiff-legged’ gait, such as Dobermans, Standard Poodles and larger terrier breeds, tend to ‘backwards’ sit. Keeping their hind feet planted, they draw their front feet back to their hind feet and simply hinge backwards into a sit.