Teaching Sit And Down

[Guest EmandDudley]

I just got my grey (Dudley) 5 days ago. So far, he's a total angel. However, I keep reading about making sure you are alpha, and I'm terrified I won't do that and create problems. One thing I read was making them "sit" or do some other "job" like "down" before they get a treat or dinner. I tried teaching "sit" and "down" and have had absolutely no luck. Any help on how you've gotten your grey to do this?

[Guest eaglflyt]

To teach a greyhound to *sit* see THIS. Then look at the follow-up posts.

 

To teach a greyhound to *down* see THIS and look at the follow up posts (102 - 104).

 

I LOVE this blog!!! : )

 

Welcome to GT and Congratulations on your new grey!!!

 

Shelly in OK

Edited December 12, 2009 by eaglflyt

[Guest IrskasMom]

First of all,Congrats on your New Houndie and WELCOME to GT . 5 Days is absolutly NO time to start training.This Baby is confused and totally New to his Surrounding. Relax and give it more time ,a Month or two and see how he

handels all the Newness . I am also not such a Fan of this Alpha Status.

[greysmom]

You're going to get a lot of replies about the whole "alpha" concept. Personally, I think that if your dog listens to you and does what you ask fairly quickly, he's got the concept. I don't do most of the "alpha" things but no dog in my house doubts that I'm the one in charge.

 

Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) training can be useful if you have a particularly stubborn or strong-willed dog, or one who is really having behavioral issues. Many people do this with their greys with success. However, I don't think you really know what kind of a grey you have yet - he's only been with you for several days and probably isn't really settled in at all. Unless you're having trouble with him at mealtimes, I might just let him be for a while. He's having to learn a lot of new stuff all at once and it can take some week (or months) for his personality and reactions to things to settle into their natural response.

 

Congrats and welcome!

greysmom

[Guest rogueslg71]

maybe teaching 'stay' or 'wait' would be easier for example simply block him from getting within a certain distance from the food bowl until you say 'ok' or click or give some other release word. it doesnt require any physical handling and him actually doing anything, just learning impulse/self control which will be good anyways for later on too

[Guest smarthound]

I agree with IrskasMom and would give your new greyhound some time to adjust to living in a home before trying to teach him new commands. It's more important right now to help him adjust to his new environment. And he will most likely be looking to you for direction so it's unnecessary to teach him you're Alpha.

 

You can show Dudley you're a good leader by feeding him, giving him a comfortable bed to sleep on, and making sure you let him out when he needs to relieve himself. At this point, he most likely doesn't know how to ask you when he needs something and he's totally dependent on you.

 

I love the Greyhound Guide posted on the Greyhound Gang's website. It has some great advice for helping a new greyhound transition to family life.

Link

 

Have fun with your new boy!

[Guest NeverSayNever]

I just got my grey (Dudley) 5 days ago. So far, he's a total angel. However, I keep reading about making sure you are alpha, and I'm terrified I won't do that and create problems. One thing I read was making them "sit" or do some other "job" like "down" before they get a treat or dinner. I tried teaching "sit" and "down" and have had absolutely no luck. Any help on how you've gotten your grey to do this?

 

 

 

Avoid being terrified. At least pretend you know what you are doing :-). Definitely make sure you are enforcing the house rules from day 1. You will create more confusion if you allow him to do things during his "adjustment" that you don't want him doing later. Prior to learning to sit or down, you can just do a wait. Insisting he stand there quietly while you put the food down and waiting to be released to his food is a simple exercise and gives you some authority. Lastly, sit and down training should be fun. There is no reason not to work on that immediately as well.

Edited December 14, 2009 by NeverSayNever

[racindog]

The biggest thing I learned from experience is to be patient. They have to learn how to learn- that is what is really taking the time. Once they get that you're off to the races! Goldie took MONTHS to learn to sit. But after that it was all down hill. He would QUICKLY learn anything I asked him to after that- rolling over, many other things and my favorite-he would sit up on his hind feet like little dogs do. It took him a little while to build up the muscles to do it but he understood and did it happily. It was quite impressive to see a big male greyt sit up and beg like a chihuahua. So just be patient. They have never been asked to learn like this before and they've got to figure it out- but once they do- no problem.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

I have posted this many times on this forum about teaching your hound to respect you is as simple as hand-feeding your hound. Hand feed your hound for the first month or so and your hound will instinctively know that you are the leader. In a pack,the leader is the one that supplies the food to the other hounds, in your home, your hound will quickly learn you are the leader and you should have less "dominance" issues. Frankly, greyhounds tend to be sensitive and quick to understand their place in the home. The hand feeding will also help bonding between you and your hound.

 

Chad

[Guest LindsaySF]

You're going to get a lot of replies about the whole "alpha" concept. Personally, I think that if your dog listens to you and does what you ask fairly quickly, he's got the concept. I don't do most of the "alpha" things but no dog in my house doubts that I'm the one in charge.

 

Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) training can be useful if you have a particularly stubborn or strong-willed dog, or one who is really having behavioral issues. Many people do this with their greys with success. However, I don't think you really know what kind of a grey you have yet - he's only been with you for several days and probably isn't really settled in at all. Unless you're having trouble with him at mealtimes, I might just let him be for a while. He's having to learn a lot of new stuff all at once and it can take some week (or months) for his personality and reactions to things to settle into their natural response.

 

Congrats and welcome!

greysmom

X 2

[Guest cms121979]

I might not be much of an expert since Ive only had my grey about 3 months, but in that time I have been able to take a dog who hadn't had a lick of obedience training on him (even though he's been in two other homes previously...seemed like both treated him like a living accessory rather than a thinking living being) to a dog that can sit, down, stay, come, heel, bow, and speak on command. And I get goosebumps at the prospects of working him in obedience!!!

 

I started off by not really teaching him anything. When he would sit to scratch his ears, I would praise the heck out of him, both affection and treats, using the words "good sit". When he would stretch, I praised him for "good bow". When he would lie down, I would praise him for "good down". You get the picture. I let this continue for about 3 weeks or so, then I started asking for these things on command. It was VERY frustrating trying to get him to do something he really didn't know how to do at first. I would scoop my arm into the crooks of his hind legs and praise like crazy and treat when his butt hit the ground. Every day, ten times a day, short intervals I would do this. All that, on top of a full time job - I was getting frustrated and exhausted. Then one day, about 2 weeks later, he and I were home alone and I just took a treat over his head and asked for a sit. It was like a light switch flipped on and he planted his rear! I asked for a down stay and walked away. I returned to find him in the same exact position, broke him out of it and praised like crazy. I was flabbergasted! My boy really did understand me!

 

What I came to realize is that he really is a very smart boy, but up until now, he's not been mentally challenged much. I needed to show him that by working hard he would get all kinds of goodies, plus lots of kisses and snuggles. It all started with the sit, and its been snowballing ever since. We have started working on giving paw, and I'd love for him to do a high five. And I know he can do it - its a matter of breaking it down into simple steps for them to understand and praising when they get it right. I will say this though - in my nearly 13 years of working with dogs, I have found that my boy has a very short attention span. Training sessions have to be kept short - I mean really short - 3 minutes tops right now. But we are working on extending that time and I know he will adjust as time goes on.

 

Keep with it. Don't expect miracles a few days or even a few weeks into it. These dogs have been bred and in the case of retired racers expected to be ready to run at a moments notice. Sitting on command might not be the most natural thing for these guys to achieve, but Echo is living proof that they can learn and are great students given the three P's of training - patience, persistence, and most important, praise!

[Guest Ashleigh]

I agree, as well, that it's too soon. As I too am a fan of the alpha concept and have used it religiously, I have found it doesn't work for this particular breed. They are overly sensitive to sound and energy. If you're nervous and untrusting of your dog, he will be the same towards you.

 

Definitely relax and take one day at a time. I've had Hank for a month now and he's changed dramatically since the day I got him. He didn't know how to show love, play...just act like a dog and he's come far. Even though he's made great strides, I'm still waiting to teach him tricks. He comes when I call him...that's all I need from him right now. I was the same way, by the way, until I stopped and listened to a few people about relaxing and just let the relationship happen.

 

Great job on your new puppy!!! I know if you relax a bit both of you will be very very happy for many years!

[Guest mickie37]

I like to get to know my dog before I start any training. Just take time to get to know each other.

The first command I teach is the Wait command. The dog simply learns to wait when I open a door or move from one room to another. He may stand, sit or lie down, he just needs to wait until I release him. I use a collar and a leash as a restraint to prevent forward motion and put my flat hand in front of his face and say wait. At the same time I teach a release word (my word is OK) when he can move forward.

I praise quietly when he responds to the Wait. If you get too excited it contradicts the wait command.

good luck.

[Guest RaspberryRachel]

Well, being terrified isn't exactly the best way to be alpha.. lol!

 

Alpha is just a fancy word for "pack leader". It is important in the kennels because the pack takes its command from the Alpha. If you are not the "leader" of your pack then you'll be pretty much useless in a dogfight. The pack has to respect it's trainer.

 

Since you only have one greyhound this is not as important as it would be if you had a "pack".

 

Please rememeber, your greyhound is not a domestic animal. Sometimes it takes a long time for them to adjust to their brand new life, much less trying to learn commands! However some ex-racers make the transition beautifully, as if they had been pets their whole lives!

 

Also, it is very difficult for most greyhounds to sit. Most never do it at all. Of course some do, but don't be too downhearted if your greyhound never picks that one up!

 

Just stay relaxed and confident, and Dewey will pick that right up from you.

Good luck with your new kid!

[GeorgeofNE]

I disagree with it being "too soon" to start training--you are ALREADY training him whether you know it or not!

 

I may be one of the few people on GT who trained my George EXACTLY the way I've trained every other dog--at least for "sit" and "down." And I'm afraid I didn't get one of the smart ones--I got a fast handsome instead! So I haven't done well with stay or come. But he has learned how to walk very nicely on a leash (and I'm VERY fussy about that--lots of "rules" for him to learn) and he did learn sit in a couple of days using the fold and tuck method described in virtually any training book.

 

I have also learned that George seems to be more like a cat with a mentality of "what's in it for me?"

[cleptogrey]

let your pup settle down in his new home. take him for walks(remember his pads might be tender living only on sand), shopping if you can(we took ours to antique stores and boutiques- she became a shopaholic), rides in the car, and just around. let him become accustomed to new sights, sound and smells and your routine. stick w/ a routine which needs to be established. after a month or so, he might be ready for classes.

 

shop for a good obedience class. do look into clicker-training. it is positive and the pups responds really well to it and since you don't know his past experiences w/ people. it will also be a good opportunity to bond and train and introduce him to many different breeds of dogs.

 

clicker does a good job opening them up and introducing new skills. remember that he may not have been taught how to sit, who wants a dog sitting in a starting box? be gentle, kind, firm and loving and have lots of yummie cheese or dehydrated liver or hot dogs for praise.YES, HE NEEDS TO EARN EACH MORSEL! watch those pounds....they really inhale treats during training and HAVE FUN!

[Wonder]

Congrats

 

I'm working on "sit" with my 2 fosters

I just hold a treat out, say "sit" and push their butt down

Doesn't take them long at all but both are pretty treat motivated