So you think your dog can Sit

As many of you know, I have been a KSDS puppy raiser for over a year now.  It has been a delight to work with Meade and to be a critical part of her life and training; preparing her for her journey as a service dog.  One of the first command words that Meade learned was to sit.  There are lots of advantages to teaching your pet to sit; one of the most important advantages is it gives you a way to redirect your pet from a misbehaving behavior to a positive good one.  Example: Your dog wants to bolt out of the door when you open it, instead of yanking on a leash or yelling at your dog, you can ask for it to sit instead and reward them for doing something better than bolting/pulling.  In reality, dogs 'misbehave' simply because we haven't taught them what we really would rather have them do in lieu of the 'misbehavior' action.

Daily I see pets come into the clinic jumping up on their owners and everyone else, pulling on leashes and failing to sit quietly and attentively to their owners.  Frequently, I demonstrate to owners how they can teach their dog to sit, instead of jumping and pulling.  Often, I have owners tell me their pet knows how to sit and listen to them give the command to sit repeatedly, attempting to show me how well their dog knows the word 'sit'.  After failure to obey the command, the owner sighs and says, "well she does it at home".  I smile and make the excuse that the dog is nervous/distracted/excited about seeing us.

In truth, our dogs really don't understand the command 'sit' unless they will sit reliably in variable environments and situations.  Every dog will fail a certain percentage of the time, after all no one is perfect, however to know that you dog truly understand the command, they should follow the command a good percentage of the time (and this means to do so in all sorts of circumstances).  Funny thing about dogs and learning what we expect out of them...dogs are very pattern trained and often their understanding/performance of  a command will break down with minor variations or distractions.  Example:  your dog will reliably sit on command at your front door, but he doesn't at the back door or at the door of your neighbor's (different enviornment).  Minor changes in routine can produce big decreases in reliability.  Your dog sits on command when you are home alone, but when you have company and he is excited he fails the test.  In order for you to say that your dog truly understands the command, he must be trained in an infinite number of situations in order to generalize that 'sit' always means sit.

Now are you ready to test your dog on how well it knows the command 'sit'?   (I can tell  you that even Meade does not always pass these tests!)  Try these exercises: After each test answer these questions--did your dog sit?  How quickly? (Ideally within about 5 seconds)  Did you have to repeat the command more than twice?

1)  While walking your dog (dog in a heeling position), say it's name and ask for a sit (without stopping or varying your pace).  Does it sit?  How quickly?  Do you have to repeat the command more than twice?
2)  While walking, stop and ask for a sit.  How did he do?
3)  Put your dog in a stay position (standing and/or sitting) and walk 6 feet away and ask for a sit.  Still good?
4)  Put your dog in a sit-stay position, walk about 10 yards away, turn and face the dog. Then ask him to come and when he reaches the halfway point, ask for a sit.  Tough one!  Needs practice?
5) Put your dog in a sit-stay, walk about 10 yards away, turn face and ask for sit again.  Does he change position?  Does he come?  Oops!
6)  Another toughy.  This one needs two people.  Have helper stand with dog on a loose leash.  You will be in front of your dog, with your back turned away from him...eyes closed.  Ask for a sit.  If he sits, helper will praise him!  Good Job!
7) I love this one.  Have your dog go to down-stay position.  Then go about 6 feet away and lie down on your back(face up) with arms crossed over your chest facing the dog (both you and the dog are lying down in a straight line with a few inches between you and the dog's muzzle).  Ask for a sit.  If he does this one...awesome!
8) Final test.  Put your dog in a Stand-stay.  Walk about 8 feet behind your dog and lie down as you did before, except have one arm extended and your hand lying palm up between your dog's hind legs.  Then ask him to sit.  Does he sit on your hand?  TRULY FANTASTIC IF HE DID!  Your dog really knows what sitting is all about!

These tests are meant to be a learning experience for you (and your dog) and to help show exactly how the dog interprets basic obedience commands.  Just put yourself in your dog's paws and the explanation becomes clear.  Your dog doesn't really have to be able to do these exercises, put it could be fun playing with them and using them to teach your dog what sitting really means.  Be inventive, practice sitting and praising your dog for his good manners.