Sit vs Down

[KouVang]

Hi,

I am going through the course. My 10 weeks old black lab already knew how to sit so that was easy for me as it is the first thing to learn. I was able to teach her "Down" to get down to the floor like how you showed with the L shape treat method. However, sometimes now she seems to mix the two sit and down. I use a clicker and say "YES" when she does it.... could it be that she just needs repetition and time?

 

Do you also recommend for her to master that one first before moving on to other things? I don't want to overwhelm her with too many all at once.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello,

Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like your 10-week old puppy is on a roll!

Have you already added the verbal cue or are you still at the luring stage?

 

If you are at the luring stage and you want your pup to perfrom a down, you would click (or verbally mark) and reward only for the completed down. Never click and reward for sitting no matter how good it feels that your pup performed a behavior you have previously taught. Same goes with sit, if you are luring a sit and get a down instead, never click and reward for a down.

 

The initial luring motion for the sit and the luring motion for the down are quite different (sit is just an upward gesture of the hand with us standing, down is the imaginary "L" where we bend down.) These initial luring motions are quite distinct and should not be easily confused; however, sometimes dogs are eager to anticipate us just to have quick access to the treat.

 

So if your puppy does a down or a sit even before you make the luring motion, I suggest doing a "reset", in other words, ignore it, move to another spot and resume making sure the puppy waits for instructions next time. To help the pup succeed, make sure those intructions come really quickly so that she's unable to anticipate.

 

If you have already added the verbal cues/final hand gestures and your puppy still seems confused, once again, pay attention if your pup is really confused or simply trying to anticipate you. If you have in mind to give the hand gesture for sit and your puppy is lying down even before you complete the hand gesture, your puppy is likely not confused but anticipating. If you give the hand gesture clearly and your puppy isn't anticipating but your puppy still seems confused then you are correct, the exercises just need some more repetition and time so that your puppy has the chance to better discriminate the two exercises.

 

Here's some tips that may help:

 

- It is not uncommon for some dogs when asked to sit to go quickly from a sit to a down if not rewarded promptly. Be fast in marking and rewarding those sits. What happens here, is that for some dogs, if they are not rewarded in a timely matter, they will lie down. This can happen because the dog thinks that the slight delay in marking/rewarding means he got it wrong and will try a different behavior or it may happen because the dog got perhaps a bit tired of sitting (usually this happens with older dogs) or is on a slippery surface.

-You can practice separate brief sessions where you ask only sits and then only downs without mixing them up yet. Make these behaviors extra fluent. Make sure the dog responds promptly and seems to have attained good muscle memory. The goal is to get a really solid understanding of each of the behaviours.

-Only once the dog seems to respond readily to both individual reps of sits and downs, it may be a good time to mix them up in the same session, making sure as always that sits are readily marked and rewarded. The timing for being ready for this may take a bit longer for a puppy versus a dog.

-Make sure the same types of treats are used for both sits and downs. If we give hot dogs for downs and kibble for sits, the down behavior will have a stronger reward history. This may lead to a higher inclination to go into a down rather than a sit.

-Ensure that cues are clear, not given too fast or asked too many in a row. Keep it always fun and upbeat. Also, ensure that behaviors are not asked nearby or too close of distractions which may lead to a dog not paying attention and just "guessing. "

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Adrienne

Edited June 17, 2018 by Adrienne Farricelli

[KouVang]

Thank you Adrienne.

I'm using verbal cue now and she's got "down" now with ease now. It's awesome! I think it just required some time and repetition. We are on now to take/leave! Making good progress too. Right now she requires me saying "leave it" first before I show her my hand of the treat..but I feel like she gets it because at times she starts to go get the treat but controlled herself and wait for my verbal cue of "take". This is really exciting. First time dog owner and I'm loving it.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Good to hear, kudos to you! Thanks for the update.