Sit command at a distance

[kungfuhippie13]

We’re working on “Sit” with my 4 y.o rescue. She knows the command but when I ask her to sit when she’s distracted with something else, she runs over to me and then sits.

Is this okay? Or should she sit where she is?

Does it matter ?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

I would first evaluate what is distracting her. In order to train efficiently, you first want to start in an area that is free of distractions. If there is too much going on, she can't focus and this may cause the behavior you are seeing.

 

You are likely seeing too much latency, which is the interval between when you give the cue (you ask your dog to sit) and when the dog starts to respond to the cue and this can be due to the distracting area you are working in. The dog is likely in the state of mind of "What? did you just say sit? Oh, right, sit, here it comes." Your cue is masked by other things going on and you are not given 100 percent attention. Try taking a more graded approach, in other words, find a quiet area where she is better able to focus and responds almost immediately in the exact spot where you ask her to perform the behavior (in most cases, standing in front of the dog).

 

Now, sometimes, there are really no overt distractions going on, but us owners are the "distraction." If this is a newly acquired rescue, there may be chances this dog may feel a bit intimidated with you standing in front of her and she therefore squirms away and sits a bit at a distance. If that's the case, you will need to take a graded approach, starting with her sitting at her comfort zone and then gradually asking for closer and closer sits as she gains more confident. You may also need to identify what if anything is intimidating her (posture, tone of voice etc) and possibly work on desensitizing her to that.

 

We consider a dog knowing a command when the dog can perform it under several distractions, with distance and the dog doesn't confuse it with other commands so she might not be at that level of proficiency yet. It will come eventually. It sounds like she isn't at that level yet, so let's help succeed by taking smaller steps. If you are asking her to sit when she is distracted or at a distance, you want to start training therefore in a quieter area and at closer distances at first (unless she's not comfortable in doing that, in which case, you can start from her comfort zone and then gradually build the kind of sit response you want) and then you can add distance and distractions (and duration when you add a built-in stay). Happy training!