Lazy sit - how to correct?

[Shane Olean]

Have a 14MO BLF that we're working with who has what I'll call a 'lazy sit' - when you bring her around to heal - whether on delivery from a mark or in preperation for a blind she'll (heels on my left) roll over on her ritght back hip and kick her rear legs out & left - so it whacks her spine/back/neck/head alignement...

I've only seen it once or twice and I've stepped on the inner rear foot to get them to 'sit up' and square with me - just wondering if anyone else has any insight on how to help out our new little girl...

Thanks!

SMO

[FOM]

Take a little step foward....

FOM

[duckhunterdfw]

or step on the foot or toes of the foot she is sitting on and she will pop up and re sit her.dont step hard as it doesnt take much.

[Kristie Wilder]

1) make sure hips are ok -- hip preliminary xray if you haven't done so already... that's rule #1, esp if they're still doing it at her age

I normally just take them by the collar lift them a little and they'll correct it, then I give them collar a little tug and say sit firmly.

sometimes I'll do that combined with a little tap to the offending leg.

I don't like to move forward because I don't want to create excess movement. I want them to sit square and just sit square.

HOWEVER, my reason for #1 is that -- hip should have been checked by now and hopefully have and that I have a hard time demanding things when it may be the result of something physical. I am NOT saying this to freak you out... But it's something that should always be considered.

I have a 4yo YLM here right now that came in to finish up some earlier training (other trainer). As I ran him on his first few sets of marks, i saw clear indication that he was pretty badly dysplastic (although I hoped I was wrong). Anyway, we confirmed it with x-rays and we now have him on anti-inflammatories that are helping a lot. He's in the middle of yardwork -- specifically sit to pile. And occasionally, he'll have a slightly lopsided sit. I've chosen to let it slide with him because I have no way of knowing whether it's his hip or not... So as long as he stops relatively square he's ok...

This is JUST a story to give you a case of why we want to rule out medical stuff...

I'm not sure how far along your girl is in her training. If she's still in early training, then it can be somewhat common to have a sloppy sit with some dogs. If she's hot or tired, it can also be "expected" to happen. If she's well into transition or advanced training, unless she's relatively soft, it's not something that you'd usually see very often. And it is a good idea to correct it, just make sure you're doing it fairly...

-K

[Dan&Guinness]

unless she's relatively soft,
-K

K -
Spice is relatively soft ... sometimes will sit sloppy. I read it as a comfort thing? Make her fix it by either tapping her or lifting her then praise the HECK out of her - the next mark / sit is always spot on. Again - I am seeking your confirmation here .... correct way to remidy this?

I've never had such a sensitve dog ... You know Guinness and Jeep - tough GUYS! Spice has been a joy tyo work with but I have to be careful.

[Kristie Wilder]

unless she's relatively soft,
-K

K -
Spice is relatively soft ... sometimes will sit sloppy. I read it as a comfort thing? Make her fix it by either tapping her or lifting her then praise the HECK out of her - the next mark / sit is always spot on. Again - I am seeking your confirmation here .... correct way to remidy this?

I've never had such a sensitve dog ... You know Guinness and Jeep - tough GUYS! Spice has been a joy tyo work with but I have to be careful.

Yeah, sounds good. With a soft dog, I would just prop them up using the collar, calmly but firmly say sit and the praise. With a soft dog, you might see it more frequently. I don't "correct" for it, just fix it. Because it's normally simply a consequence of their softness and any pressure will make it worse -- AND as they progress through the yard, you'll see it go away as they get comfortable, gain confidence and start to enjoy the stuff that gets them a little down or uptight. Soft dogs are also sometimes good candidates for happy bumpers within a training session AS LONG AS THEY ARE GIVING GOOD EFFORT. This can help relax them and you'll see the sit improve following the happy bumper.

The sloppy sit in a soft dog THAT'S TRYING HARD is not something you want to be "ugly" about... Really you don't want to be ugly about it in almost every case. But with young dogs just being sloppy, you can add a little pop when you're fixing the sit (whether for foot, tug on the collar or whatever -- sometimes I'll even give them a little pop under the chin, this keeps them thinking "upright").

-K

[DL]

I don't know how well this teaches a dog to sit straight by doing it, but I saw in the Fowl Dogs video where he straightened a sit by lifting on the skin on the side. I tried it on my dog. It sort of man handled the dog into position but it did it very well.

[BetsyBernock]

From the positive reinforcement perspective, you can use a treat to encourage the dog to sit straight by holding the treat just above his nose; he has to stretch his spine to reach it and this will force him to correct his own sit. This is something quick and easy that you can do around the house.

A couple repetitions and the dog learns that the reward only comes from being in that position, so he is more likely to return to that position more quickly.

I agree with checking the hips first - then if they are ok, addressing it with training.

Happy Training!

Betsy