Dog Community

Long sit

Posted : 3/28/2007 7:53:11 PM

I have shown my rescue Australian Terrier in AKC obedience, through an ILP#. He performs with a great attitude, and is very attentive/entergetic.

We have shown twice, and both times Wally would have received a qualifying score, had he not laid down on his long sit. I stand there, unable to do anything, watching him stress out, then slowly lay down seconds before his measley 1 minute is over.

It's rather depressing, because Wally does well otherwise. He had a 193 out of 200 at the last show, before he laid down(of course).

I recognize the fact that Wally is a velcro-dog, and craves every second of my attention. I also recognize the fact that I am asking him to perform in a strange enviroment with unknown dogs/handlers, and being a ring-away from me in a long sit obviouly bothers him.

So, is there a somewhat easy way to "cure" this? do I just need to build-up Wally's confidence, by gradually practicing in low-to-moderate-to-crazy stressful sittuations? Other handlers agree he is very confident when working with me.

When practicing, if Wally lays down before I return, I quickly and firmly sit-him up again. I tell him "No! Sit! Stay!" firmly, and return to my place of waiting. Am I doing this right? Maybe I am confusing him?

A handler suggested putting a broom-handle behind his front legs. Didn't work. Wally just laid down anyway. And he might sense there is no broom-handle in the show-ring anyway.

So, how can I fix this? Wally and I are willing to give almost any method our time and attention.

Xeph

Posted : 3/28/2007 10:16:20 PM

have you been letting him up at 1 minute every time? Or have you varied the time of allowing him to get up? Dogs learn to sense when that time is getting near, and will break their stays after they've decided they've been there long enough.

First thing I'd do is put him in a sit stay, and with a stopwatch (or clock with a minute hand), count how long he remains in his sit stay until he breaks. Do it a couple times to get an idea, and go from there.

I would also suggest that you DO NOT leave him! If he breaks his stay, you correct him, and stay with him nose to toes, so you can get him again if he goes down. Once you have an idea of when he goes down, start rewarding him right before that moment, and remind him of how good he's being for staying.

willgroom4chocolate

Posted : 3/29/2007 7:22:15 AM

Xeph, yes I do vary the times when I practice. And usually more than the required one minute. This moring, however, when timed 3 times, Wally broke the long sit at:
2:30
2:23
2:55

So, this means Wally is used to being released somewhere in the 2-3 minute range?

Are you saying I should back-up, and practice next to Wally, untill I'm sure he won't lay down, and then slowly create a distance? Should I continue to vary times, and does it matter how long I make the stay "go" when I'm practicing? Thanks for your time!

buster the show dog

Posted : 3/29/2007 12:19:05 PM

ORIGINAL: willgroom4chocolate

Xeph, yes I do vary the times when I practice. And usually more than the required one minute. This moring, however, when timed 3 times, Wally broke the long sit at:
2:30
2:23
2:55

So, this means Wally is used to being released somewhere in the 2-3 minute range?

Are you saying I should back-up, and practice next to Wally, untill I'm sure he won't lay down, and then slowly create a distance? Should I continue to vary times, and does it matter how long I make the stay "go" when I'm practicing? Thanks for your time!

Above, you pinpointed Wally's problem as being lack of confidence. Once a dog gets in the habit of going down on the sit it is a really hard cycle to fix. The dog is a little unsure of himself, so he sinks down. Handler comes back and corrects him which does two things - gives him attention, even if it is negative; and at the same time makes him more unsure because he did get corrected. So, the next time he is even more unsure, and more inclined to sink down, so handler again both gives him attention for going down, and makes him more unsure. To break the cycle, the handler needs to give the dog lots of good feedback while the dog is correct, which means setting things up so the dog won't fail, and boosting the dog's confidence by rewarding the proper position. So, I would NOT practice sits that are so long that he is being allowed to fail, and then corrected. Instead, I would really back up on time and distance. First, I would do very short stays - like maybe about 10 seconds or so, with a reward as you return, and after you return. Then, I would first extend the length of the stay, but as you extend the length of the time you are still going to give treats frequently, DURING the stay. So, you step away, wait 10 seconds, go to front, praise and treat, step back, 10 seconds later repeat. Once you can do maybe a minute and a half two two minutes that way, with NO failures, then start extending and randomizing the time between treats. Once he is very confident for up to a couple minutes to three minutes, then start extending the distance you move away, but continue to go back to him periodically to reward him for being correct, rather than waiting for him to be wrong and then correcting him. This seems like a really long process, but believe me it is less lengthy than trying to fix a really ingrained pattern of failure.

Also consider that sitting for extended periods of time really isn't a natural posture for dogs. How long to we ever see dogs maintain a sit position on their own? So, bear in mind that just like any other physical activity, we need to build up the dog's endurance gradually on the sit. If it is pushed too long too fast, we are just teaching the dog that sits are uncomfortable, which again does not boost confidence.