# Why can't Hairy sit?!!!



## lfalz (May 10, 2013)

So my brilliant handsome charming 5






month old spoo is decidedly a funny little dude! He heels, comes and stays awfully well. And in the house he sits on command just fine, but if we are on a walk and I ask him to sit he looks at me like I a have suddenly begun speaking cat!!

Lol! I use the same signals each time, pull up on the leash and give a simple clear command and he stares lovingly into my eyes. Period. I am having to physically put my hand on his admittedly adorable butt and put him in a sit!! 

I am wondering if his latest growth spurt is a contributing factor? His butt is higher than his shoulders. Or perhaps he is just being a pill! Lol! Looking for ward to your replies!


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## NorthJerseyGirrl (Aug 15, 2011)

I will defer to more experienced trainers but I wanted to say that your dog's name is a hoot! :clap2:


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## plr (Oct 20, 2012)

I'll also defer to more experienced trainers. I can offer what my experience has been with my puppy. He would not sit when we were out on a walk until he was at least 5-6 months old, and then only if there wasn't anything else going on around us. He was too busy watching everything but me. He's getting better at paying attention to me on walks but will still be very distracted by everything going on. 

I can highly recommend Jean Donaldson's book - "How to Train Your Dog Like A Pro".


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## lfalz (May 10, 2013)

Thank you! I will keep at and check out that trainer!


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Dogs are situational. Hairy knows 'Sit' in one place, now he needs to learn it in others. Work with him in different rooms, then in the backyard, graduate to the front yard, etc. At one point, the light bulb will switch on and he'll understand that 'Sit' means park your hieney on the ground. 

Something else, the hand on his admittedly adorable butt could be a reinforcer for standing. 'If I sit, I may get a treat or a good boy, if I stand she'll TOUCH me! Yippee!'


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## Qarza (Feb 23, 2013)

I am looking forward to an answer too. When I am walking my two i try to get them to sit before we cross a road. Bridget will do so nicely. But Poppy refuses to. All other things she does fine.


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## momtymztu (Mar 27, 2012)

Dusty is 7 months old now and typically listens well, BUT I do still try to make sure I have his attention with a high value treat when I am asking for a sit in a very distracting situation. Maybe Hairy needs a little extra motivation when there are so many more interesting things to pay attention to. 

Now I too will wait for the more experienced trainers to chime in...


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Lou needed a little extra yummy treat to sit in situations with distractions at 5 months old, I practiced things like: put her on a sit and stay, then throw a ball and have her stay until I said the release command so she could have the ball, squeaky toys were also a good distraction! But I'm not a trainer at all, i mostly trained Lou following my instincts and reading stuff 


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## Lene (Jan 18, 2013)

Just use the same technique you used in your home... Dogs don't generalise, so you have to show/teach them from the beginning in all new places... When he's older, he'll know that sit means SIT....


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I would agree. Hairy just needs to learn that sit means the same thing no matter what the location or distraction.

For Poppy is she more nervous than Bridget? Perhaps she feels nervous/unsafe doing so. With Swizzle in class when there was a new dog he was unfamiliar with he would sit on command but not lie down. Once he knew the dog he would lie down. Now he will down on command even around unfamiliar dogs but he needed to build his confidence to do so.


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## Qarza (Feb 23, 2013)

Yes Poppy is more nervous than Bridget. When out walking she doesn't sniff everything she just walks happily attached to my leg, and I mean attached! If I let them off lead, she does go exploring, but not far at all. I am not too bothered because I don't think making them sit at a road is essential. The important thing is stopping.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

Agreed. Dogs don't logically reason things out quite as humans do. This means that "sit" is situational, as others have said. So that means that you have to teach it in different situations/places. Start teaching it (like you have in your home) with the lowest criteria (level of difficulty) possible and raise criteria slowly, step by step each time you teach it. 

You can always ask for a "sit" to see if she knows it in that setting/situation, but if she doesn't, simply wait for a sit and capture it. It promotes thinking while molding (pulling up on the leash and pushing down on her butt) doesn't. I find that dogs who learn via capturing, shaping, and luring are better are generalizing than dogs who were taught via molding. 

Video you guys might be interested in on this subject: 



Blog to go with the video: Dogs Notice Everything | eileenanddogs

Really makes you think about how fair corrections are.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I agree with the others who have suggested that you need to help Hairy (too funny) generalize the sit command. Dogs are very contextual in their learning so you have to help them when they are in new places.

I have one other thought to add, which is that he may be experiencing a little bit of pan-osteitis (growing pains) that are making him reluctant to sit in a place he thinks is going to be uncomfortable to sit. He is a tiny bit on the old side for it, but that could be part of it. If you notice a general reluctance to sit or notice some groans when going to sit or down that could be what is going on. It is easily managed with NSAIDs like metacam (available from your vet).


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I agree to make sure it's no physical reason first. If he sits in other places on his own, then it's probably not that.

If it's all behavioral and nothing is wrong with his hips or anything, if it were me, I'd stop using the cue, "sit" until the dog has got it more reliable in most every context. What happens when you tell him to sit and he doesn't, the cue loses it's effectiveness or meaning. Remember that cues don't drive behavior. Consequences do. I wouldn't get in the habit of pushing or touching his rear because that will become the cue and he'll get stuck in that and you'll have to keep doing it that way unless you fade it out over time. (hassle)

Something you can do is wait and watch for when he sits on his own accord and immediately reinforce with a high value treat say. Reinforcement is very important as it is what will get this behavior going. Stand around and wait for him to sit. If he never sits, take him into the bathroom or equally boring room where there really isn't much going on. He may lie down but try working with him when he's not tired. Stand in such a way that he doesn't have room to lie down, but don't let your posture be intimidating or looming. Get him a little engaged with you like you two are going to do something fun. You can start giving him tiny tid bits of treats for free. Then stop. He may try offering behaviors in order to get more treats, wondering how to get you to deliver. Use a clicker or a special word first (as a conditioned reinforcer)a second before he gets the treat. And sit just might be one behavior he'll try, as he may be guessing at this stage. That's when you give him lots of praise and more treats. Then give a release word and try the game again. 

So, capture the behavior around the house, when he just might sit on his own and reinforce. Try setting him into situations for training where he might not think of anything else to do but sit. Reinforce. Try another room in the house, different contexts. Once he starts offering the behavior more regularly, then start using your verbal cue. Let him figure out what gets him the thing he loves first. _THEN_ add in your cue. Gradually work in all kinds of various locations and situations. Make sure to use a treat or toy that really, really rocks his boat. Don't rely on praise alone. He gets love and attention anyhow. Reinforce with something he doesn't get every day, something stupendous. lol.


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