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Friday Focus

"SIT"...such a small little word.

 
 
 
Probably one of the first things you teach your puppy when you bring them home.
 
 
 
One of the biggest things we can use to stop some of the most troublesome behaviours.
 
 
 
Building on an amazing sit can be used as a way to stop many unwanted behaviours such as:
 
  • Jumping up at people
  • Climbing over people on the sofa
  • Counter surfing
  • Rushing through doors
  • Lunging to greet other dogs on a lead
  • many many more things...why?
Because a great sit can be an "incompatible behaviour"...in other words if your dog has more value in a SIT then jumping up at people stops...because a SIT is a Mutually Exclusive Behaviour (MEB). Or in other words your dog cannot SIT and jump up at someone at the same time.
 
 
 
If you build more value in a SIT then so many other behaviours cannot happen, and usually behaviours that you don't want to happen.
 
 
 
Of course training a REALLY good SIT takes time and consistency when you are training your dog. But just (as I always say) work around your 3Ds.
 
 
 
Your 3Ds are so important - DISTANCE, DISTRACTION & DURATION
 
 
 
For example if you are training your puppy/dog to SIT to stop them jumping up at people. You may have your dog sitting most of the time in a variety of situations but when they see a person coming into them (DISTRACTION) this may be the tough bit to work around. This is the "D" you need to work on and gradually add the bigger DISTRACTIONS at low levels to help them learn that even if people are coming into them, that the best place to be is in a sit!
 
 
 
Of course if you are struggling then you do need to contact a trainer to see what is going on and we're there to help with that and guide you with expert advice.
 
 
 
But give it a try...start by rewarding EVERY sit you see and ask for. See if you can turn your dog's SIT into something they start offering all the time. Remember, a reward is ANYTHING your dog likes, from eye contact, a smile, squeaky voices, food, toys, hugs, love and ANYTHING they like. So, I challenge you to reward as many SITS as you see for a week and let me know if you notice any changes.
 
 
 

(of course you can always choose a down as well, even a stand - any stationary position - I've just used a SIT as an example)


Date: 23/12/2022
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