Just started KC bronze training with Molly and the trainer has asked us to work on getting a sit on the first time of asking every time. Molly is pretty good at this - but not 100%. She'll do it first go maybe 8 times out of 10 but the other times I need to repeat the command. (I'm also trying to get her to sit to the whistle as part of gundog training). At this week's bronze class, the trainer made us do it in turn and with everyone whose dog didn't sit instantly, she held their lead and she told us to go and make a fuss of someone else's dog and then come back and try again. The trainer said there must be a consequence to a dog not responding. However I don't see how I (or anyone else in the group come to that since we're almost all single dog owners) can use that technique out of class. Also not sure it's very useful in class, as Molly is happy for me to pet other dogs and would almost certainly have sat on the second ask anyway. So any suggestions to make a sit happen first time, every time?
Re: How to ensure an instant 'sit' every time. Initiate a training session when your dog is very keen for attention. Ask for a sit. If you don't get a sit then immediately end the training session and walk away. Try again a few minutes later. And never repeat your cue, ever When a dog is keen to interact with you and learn the removal of the opportunity to do so is a powerful punishment (in the proper, operant conditioning use of the term) that will decrease your dog's tendency to ignore a cue. Also, it is very important to make sure you have your dog's attention before giving a cue, that your verbal cue is clear and consistent and any hand signals you use are absolutely identical in every way, every time. Otherwise the dog's 'mistake' is not its fault
Re: How to ensure an instant 'sit' every time. It's just the same kind of thing as your trainer was having you do - removing your attention, but without the added step of giving it to another dog. It'll still work If he gets it 'wrong' and you walk away, but then try again a few minutes later and he sits - give him a big jackpot to really emphasise the difference that responding correctly to the cue makes
Re: How to ensure an instant 'sit' every time. Try getting your pup to sit for its food? With the dog facing you, show the dog the bowl, put your hand in the air making the stop sign and blow the whistle. The dog will learn the sit, stop and the whistle command. Then on a walk with dog on lead come to a stop and give the sit command and blow the whistle, you can treat at this stage, they will soon catch on. The sit command can in time be dispensed with and just the whistle used. This is used to teach the stop whistle, you then can move on to using it when the dog is away from you (this is another excercise).
