May 13, 2011
I have an 18 month old dog that refuses to sit or down. What can I do?
Full Question:
I have an 18 mo. old airedale that does excellent obedience work, except when she is on a field where lots of other dogs have been allowed to run around or walk on - including an obedience ring.She'll refuse to sit or down, side steps over patches of grass, and usually backs up when she does sit at a halt from the heel.
Have you encountered anything like this before? I've been at "dog-run" parks and tried to force the sit and down, etc. At that point she usually shuts down and of course the sessions are no longer any fun for either of us. I have to end the sessions myself before I take my anger out on her.
Ed's Answer:
The fact is that your dog is only partially trained. I guess you already know this. The dog needs to get over the hump that exists in learning that they MUST DO what they are told to do. Once they understand this concept things will move ahead. Until then there are no magic tricks that you can do to make her sit and down when she does not want to.
I am not one of these mean trainers - but I expect my dogs to mind all the time or they get a correction.
You identify the biggest problem that ALL her trainers have "ANGER" - there is no place for this in training. If you can replace ANGER with "BEING CALM" and you have taken the first step to becoming a dog trainer. I talk about this in my training tape titled Basic Dog Obedience and Training a Competition Heeling Dog. I would recommend these tapes to you.
So what this dog must learn is that it is going to receive a correction every time it does not sit down. This stage comes directly after we know 100% in our mind that the dog knows and understands these commands and is refusing to do them. The correction must be followed by exaggerated praise from you. The dog must feel that you corrected it for doing something wrong , but you have immediately forgiven it and still love it for doing what you asked it to do. That’s the concept.
Some people can never learn this, some people take years to learn this and some people are naturals. Where you fall in the loop is something that you will have to figure out. The fact that you have identified your temper is a first step.
I am not one of these mean trainers - but I expect my dogs to mind all the time or they get a correction.
You identify the biggest problem that ALL her trainers have "ANGER" - there is no place for this in training. If you can replace ANGER with "BEING CALM" and you have taken the first step to becoming a dog trainer. I talk about this in my training tape titled Basic Dog Obedience and Training a Competition Heeling Dog. I would recommend these tapes to you.
So what this dog must learn is that it is going to receive a correction every time it does not sit down. This stage comes directly after we know 100% in our mind that the dog knows and understands these commands and is refusing to do them. The correction must be followed by exaggerated praise from you. The dog must feel that you corrected it for doing something wrong , but you have immediately forgiven it and still love it for doing what you asked it to do. That’s the concept.
Some people can never learn this, some people take years to learn this and some people are naturals. Where you fall in the loop is something that you will have to figure out. The fact that you have identified your temper is a first step.
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