How to teach sit?

[Toastie]

We adopted a 6 yo Yorkie almost 2 months ago. I cannot get her to sit. I'm not sure if she isn't bright or just stubborn. The only method that works is making her sit before her bowl of food gets put down and it only works like 2 % of the time.

If I hold a treat over her nose she just picks her head up, or walks backwards, her butt never makes any inclination of sitting.

Is an experienced trainer my only real option? Is she too old?

[barneysmommmy]

Anna did this, but she was older (around 6 or 7) when we got her from the shelter. I put her close to a wall so she couldn't back up. When her butt hit the wall, she would sit with her head up trying to get the treat. After several sessions of this, she was able to move to a more open space successfully.

[Mayzoo]

You may already be doing this:

SIT

The dog must Sit from standing position on one cue only (may be a voice OR a hand cue, but not both, and no extra body language from the handler). The handler may use the dog’s name to get her attention before starting.

DISCUSSION: Sit is the standard preventive incompatible behaviour – dog can't jump on you if he's sitting. Can't get on the couch if he's sitting on the floor. Can't leap on visitors if he's sitting away from them. A behaviour necessary to virtually every dogsport, and a useful default behaviour When in doubt, sister, Sit!

EASY BEGINNINGS: Kids love to teach this behaviour. It's a great one to lure. With a soft, nibble-able treat in your hand, put your hand right on the dog's nose. Give her a chance to take a little nibble of the treat, then slowly start moving it up and back. Be sure that her nose is coming UP – nose goes UP, butt goes DOWN. As soon as the butt hits the ground, click and treat.

Be careful with luring – lure with the treat maybe five times, then make the same gesture with your empty hand. If the dog follows your hand and sits, click and treat. If she doesn't, lure with the treat maybe twice more, and try it without again. You're trying to get rid of the treat in your hand as quickly as possible.

PROBLEM SOLVING:

SHE'S JUMPING UP TO GET THE TREAT INSTEAD OF PUTTING HER BUTT ON THE GROUND – That's because you're holding the treat too high. You WANT the dog to follow the treat, so if you hold the treat high over her head, she's going to jump to reach it. Put the treat right down where she can nibble it at her regular nose-height, then SLOWLY move it up and back. Note that the treat never leaves her nose as her nose follows it up and back..

SHE DOESN'T SIT WHEN I LURE HER BACK, SHE JUST BACKS UP – Hmmm, a very athletic dog! Try starting in a corner where she can't back up!

SHE ONLY CROUCHES HER BACK LEGS, THEN SHE GIVES UP AND STANDS UP AGAIN – OK, for this dog, luring isn't going to work by itself. You're going to have to shape the behaviour a bit. Click the crouch ten times, then wait for a TINY bit more crouch than she gave you before. She's standing back up, as you say, because she tried what you wanted and, getting nothing for her effort, she gave up. You need to tell her that she IS on the right track, you WILL reward her for bending her back legs. Once she's secure on that point, you can affort to wait for a slightly bigger effort from her without her quitting.

ADDING A CUE: The nice thing about luring a behaviour is that it automatically builds in a hand signal. After a couple of days' practise, a short sample of the same gesture which produced the Sit in the first place will tell her you want her to Sit.

If you want a voice cue for the Sit as well, try to separate it from the gesture. Click the Sit often enough that she begins offering it to you without waiting for your gesture. When she's offering it, you can tell her what it's called – almost as if you're saying "Oh, by the way, that thing you're doing there? That's called 'Sit'" Pair the word with her sitting a hundred times, then ask for the behaviour when she's not thinking of it. If she responds correctly, click and treat. If she doesn't, never mind, pair it another hundred times and then try again.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: Where can she Sit? Can she Sit on the floor? On a carpet? On a hard floor? On a stool? On a grooming table? On the floor of your car? On top of her crate? Under a table? Before you open the door to the yard? Before you give her her dinner? Before she gets petted?

Training Level ONE | Mind to Mind

[Maximo]

Dogs are never too old to learn. There are Yorkies here in this forum 12 years and older who are still learning complex tricks.

Great advice in the above posts on how to teach sit. I gently pushed Max's bottom down when I gave the command. Then I rewarded with a treat and very happy verbal praise.

He learned to use the sit to beg and blackmail me. Who can resist a good sit?

[SirTeddykins]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Dogs are never too old to learn. There are Yorkies here in this forum 12 years and older who are still learning complex tricks.

Great advice in the above posts on how to teach sit. I gently pushed Max's bottom down when I gave the command. Then I rewarded with a treat and very happy verbal praise.

He learned to use the sit to beg and blackmail me. Who can resist a good sit?

exactly how I taught Teddy when he was 4 months old

[capt_noonie]

Agree, they are never too old to learn! I've had fosters of all ages, young and old, and the only one who I couldn't/didn't teach tricks to was Scrappy due to his legs. It was hard for him to walk/jump/sit so I didn't do training sessions with him.

Anyway, yes to being in front of a wall. Don't hold the treat up too high, otherwise he may try to go into a stand or beg instead. Just hold it right above the nose and move it backwards.

I would really recommend to do training sessions during mealtime with kibble. That way they are good and hungry and will be more responsive. I don't think extra treats after or between meals will make keep their attention and will just put on extra weight.

Or find something they cannot resist. Mine love pieces of carrot, cucumber, tomato, sometimes they get pieces of bread or cheese too but those in moderation!

[canana]

I also agree, Yorkies are never too old to learn. It's unbelievable how smart they really are!

Scottie was 5 months old when I got him and was 6 months by the time I actually started training him. It always sounds easy, reading the step-by-step guides to teach simple commands. And then when you go to do it, it's a lot harder

Scottie also refused to sit when I first taught him. In fact, I never saw him relax in a sit or lie down in the resting state. He was always on all fours! hahaha...

Anyway, I tried the lure and all the other suggestions to no avail (i.e. with the treat really close to his nose and moving it backwards; he'd just step backwards). Finally, I had to slightly push him bum down, click, and treat in order to train him to sit. Once he 'got it', it was easy from there.

It's kind of cute when they're trying to figure out what you're trying to get them to do. Haha..and then it can become frustrating when you lose patience, which you should then try again later. Training should always be fun!