I feel rather silly asking this but here goes;

I've been doing Rally with my girl and we have our Novice Title but now I've discovered that through NAMBR (North American Mixed Breed Registry) we can compete in Novice Obedience.

In Rally, when we come to a halt, I am allowed to say "sit" or give a hand signal or both at the same time. In NAMBR for the Novice Obedience, Sasha will have to do an automatic sit when we come to a halt; no commands/signals allowed.

What is the best way, easiest way, to teach this after not expecting an autosit for the last 2 years? If I don't give her a command or signal, she stays in heel position but stares at me waiting for a command. If I wait long enough, she'll swing into a "front" position and stare at me.

Please keep in mind Sasha is basically a family pet/house dog, very soft and low drive. And yes, we are training with markers.

Lure and mark it.

I usually do it from the beginning, and they get it after enough reps, but I've never had to undo another ingrained behavior to get to it.

In the future, I recommend that you teach the sit from the beginning. It makes for a better-mannered dog. The dog knows what is expected, rather than trying to anticipate. It also eliminates posturing when working near other dogs.

The fact that she know to sit on command can a big help.
Get your footwork consistent. You want to always stop on the same foot to cue the dog visually. That can be a biggie.
I'll bet your slowing down to try and elicit a sit. That isn't uncommon. Don't do it!
Do the foot work separate from the dog and have someone call the halts so you can practice your halts with consistency.
if your on your left foot when the judge calls "halt" then take another right step and finish by bringing the left up to the right and stop.
If you on you right foot I would still take a full step on the left, followed by a right step then left to your right and stop. Dogs are more visual then verbal so it shouldn't take long if your visual cues are in sync with the judge's vocal command. If you do use corrections of any sort then a light pop from the leash can also be a signal as you wean off the word "sit".
These are natural moves and wont be knocked as extra steps. Generally beginners in OB will try and stop immediately on the Judges "halt" command and wind up looking like they're going to fall over.
I don't know why they put the "sit" command in Rally if the are going to drop it in OB. To much confusion for beginners.
Do what Dwane said above about the next dog being taught to sit without the command.
I trained in both AKC OB and Schutzhund at the same time. Schutzhund requires a sit command only when doing a walking sit. the rest is a given every time you come to a stop.
AKC also requires a "Stay" command when you walk away from the dog. Schutzhund wants the dog to understand the if ther is no Foose.Heel command the dog is expected to remain where it's at in whatever position you last commanded.
When in the AKC ring I give the required "Stay" command but it means nothing to the dog since I haven't given him another command after the sit or down command.

She already knows heel position and sit, all you have to do is fade the command. You can heel her at a good pace, say sit, and come to an abrupt halt. Do it three times, and then on the fourth just halt. Reward her for sitting, even if its a little slow. That will get better with reps.

Once she is reliably sitting on the fourth one, randomly leave out the command on the first, third, etc. Her cue will always be the abrupt halt. Like Bob mentioned, try to be consistent with your footwork and pace, that will help with her attention and that will help with the sit.

We compete in CARO Rally because Sasha is considered a mix-breed and we cannnot compete in anything AKC or CKC. Because of this, I never thought we could compete to get a CD so when we started training I really didn't worry about the auto sit. Then I discovered NAMBR.

Bob, you are so right. I was slowing down thinking that would be the signal to her to prepare for a sit. This week, I've been practicing the footwork without her and doing the abrupt stops. I'll work on getting that down pat first then I'll start back in with her.

We'll be practicing this alot over the holidays; 5 minutes at a time.

Thanks for your help guys. Updates to come.

P.S. Her Stand for Examination is beautiful!

You can compete with a mixed breed dog in the AKC if your dog is spayed or neutered. You can register them as an "All American" and show them in almost all of the performance events. Rally, Agility, and obedience are totally open to them. There were several mixed breed dogs at the AKC National Agility Invitational this weekend.

Best of Luck with your training!

Sasha and I live in Canada. Can I register Sasha as an "All American" if we don't live in the States? I guess I'd have to go to the States to compete then too wouldn't I?

I'll check with the CKC to see if they have something similar like a "All Canadian" registration.

Thanks for the info Holly.

The CKC does not seem to have an analog to the AKC Canine Partner Program
AKC doesn't allow mixed breeds to participate in nosework.. grumble grumble..

The AKC does not recognize nosework for purebred dogs either. Unless I am mistaken, it is not a sport that any dog can title in under the AKC. As soon as that changes, I will be the first in line to play!

I should have said tracking, not nosework, my mistake