May 13, 2011
My dog lays down when I ask her to sit. What should I do?
Full Question:
Dear Ed:I have purchased your basic dog obedience tape and it is great. However, I still have a couple of questions if you don't mind answering.
My GSD (8 months) knows the sit, lay and stay commands as well as the come command (without the sit. Just started working on that). And you were right in your tape that the lay was much harder for her to comply with.
However, now when I ask for the sit she will either sit or lay and it is usually lay. Do I need to work on that and if so how do I bring her up from the lay into the sit??
Thank you.
John
Ed's Answer:
If you are not trying to train a competition dog – why worry if the dog sits or lays down? All you really want it to do is stay in one place – sitting or laying down is not a big thing.
But if a dog does lay when you ask it to sit – you should not correct it for doing this. The dog is trying to comply with a command from you. The problem is not that she is not being obedient but that it does not understand the command. This is a problem that can be fixed with a lot of praise when she does it right and then if she does lay down – say SIT and gently pull her up to a sit position and give her a treat when she is sitting.
I hope this helps.
But if a dog does lay when you ask it to sit – you should not correct it for doing this. The dog is trying to comply with a command from you. The problem is not that she is not being obedient but that it does not understand the command. This is a problem that can be fixed with a lot of praise when she does it right and then if she does lay down – say SIT and gently pull her up to a sit position and give her a treat when she is sitting.
I hope this helps.
100% (4 out of 4)
respondents found this answer helpful
Can't find what you're looking for?
100% (4 out of 4)
respondents found this answer helpful
