Sit

[STACEY FALCONE]

I have 5 dogs that I am working with different ages and breeds 4 of them are doing great with the sitting my 2 year old shihtzu no matter how close and slowly I move the treats she keeps backing up instead of sitting down what am I doing wrong any tips or criticism is welcome thank you 😃

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

Welcome to the forums!

Kudos to you for training so many dogs! Lucky doggies 🙂

Yes, we sometimes, stumble on small dogs who are reluctant to sit or they back-up rather than sit.  Here are some tips and ideas: 

-You can try to sit down on the couch and practice from there. Some small dogs are wary of feet (they may have been tripped over at some time or are just wary ), other small dogs may not feel too comfortable when we loom over them from a standing position, so if we sit on the couch with the dog on the floor nearby, we are more comfortable and the dog may feel more comfortable too. 

-If your dog is comfortable around you in her space, you can try training her against a wall, large furniture or corner so that she has no space to back up and will end up eventually sitting. It may take a little bit to persuade them, but some patience and the food lure will likely help.

-You can use shaping, meaning you reward very small approximations of the final behavior. So using your food lure, you would start feeding it for just looking up at first, then moving her head upwards, then lowering her back legs a bit until you finally get the sit, at which point give a jackpot of treats (several treats in a row to leave an impact). 

-If you think your shih tzu may be a little bit inhibited by something ( like hands near her face), you can try a training method known as capturing. You may need to be patient for this. This entails, sitting on the couch (with treats in your hand ready to give at a moments notice) and watching your dog during the day. If you ever notice her sit spontaneously, say "yes!" and toss a treat her way. With time, you should see an increase in the sitting behavior over time as she makes the connection of sit=treat. Keeping her on leash while you are sitting on the couch may help as she may get bored and a bit tired and hopefully sit.

If you are still struggling with getting your small dog to sit, feel free to post on the forums and we can do further troubleshooting. A strong reluctance to sit may also need evaluating by a vet in case there's some sort of pain going on that may be preventing a dog from  feeling comfortable enough to sit. 

In several cases, I have had success combining both sitting on the couch and using something bulky nearby to prevent the backing up and set the stage for success. If the dog is allowed on furniture you can even use the couch backboard/headboard? (where you put your back/head against, not sure of its name!) to prevent backing up. 

I hope this helps!

Happy training!

[JMFS]

Question.  What type of flooring are you practicing on?  Our Dachshunds struggled with it because we have hardwood floors and they kept sliding.

Adrienne mentioned capturing and I Love that method.  To me, the drawback is it only works for behaviors they offer.  The bonus is that they offer So many behaviors.  :D  It's how I taught Gertrude how to bow.  Every morning she would stretch I would say, "bow."  I don't keep treats in the bedroom so I couldn't capture it with a snack, but I started setting her up to learn the word.  When I Did have treats and she would bow I would say, "bow," and give her a treat.  She now offers bows all the time.  So cute!

One other thing I can think of is maybe the treat isn't worthy enough.  Initially you might consider using a higher value something (hot dog, boiled chicken, freeze dried food - something good and smelly) to get her attention.

I'll be curious to know how it goes after implementing the suggestions.