I hold the treat in my hand, (my dog LOVES these treats) I put the treat a few inches away from her head, but she follows it a little and turns her head back to her normal position. She ends up not sitting down at all. I need help!
When we starting teaching Luna we would say the command and treat every time she done something good. So if she sat on her own (sit, well done, fuss and treat) same with lie down etc. Each time you do it you will reinforce the queues then start saying it and she will start to learn what to do for the treat. You could try letting her smell the treat, move it a little above her head, say her name then sit. When Luna got herself too excited sometimes we would just gently pat just above her back legs and when she sat made a huge fuss. Always use her name first then the queue as its will gain her attention and that you are speaking to her. If Luna isn't listening or too excited (she is now 13 months so into the teenage era!) we always use a firm voice and say 'Luna Listen' until she looks at us and then tell her what we want her to do. At the start I thought it was an impossibility to get her to listen or do anything apart from being a croco pup but now she has really found herself and even the dog walker has said how well behaved she it. Keep going and remember, with patience and practice you will reap the rewards in the years to come!
We did a similar thing with Bertie. To begin with every time he sat down on his own accord we’d say sit and give a treat, I think we just did that for a few days to associate the word. He used to follow us around and sit down whenever we stopped so we would then say sit just as he was about to sit and give a treat and since then he’s done it every single time. We ask him to sit before each meal, before we open a door or garden gate, when we’re leas training in the garden and when he’s getting too excited an nippy it’s now a fail safe option to get him to focus (unless there’s a child or dog about). He wasn’t interested in any treats to begin with at all until we gave him chicken which he’s much happier with. keep going with it! Once she cracks it a couple of time she’ll soon learn and all your hard work and patience will have paid off
To lure the sit, put the treat on the dog's nose and allow them to nibble away at it. Move it over the top of the head towards the tail, all the time allowing them to continue nibbling (not lifting it up at all). The pup will sit down because it's the most comfortable way to keep following the treat.
