How Do You Teach A Grey To Sit?

[Guest Frankendog]

I used the method for Frankie where I waited till he was about to lie down on his bed, and stopped him half way, rewarding him for that. He picked it up in no time. He would only sit on his bed at first but I tempted him with a yummy treat to come farther and farther away from his bed. Now he will sit anywhere (and lay down, shake a paw, back up, turn in a circle, target objects with his nose, and give a kiss).

 

Annie, who we got in April, was harder. She has the energy of a border collie and just didn't get what I was asking of her, or rather she was so quick she would lat down before I could stop her half way. Finally one day out in the yard I was asking Frankie to sit, I was giving them both a treat, but didn't bother asking her to sit, suddenly her bottom just hit the ground and she looked at me rather pleased with herself!! It was such a surprise!! She has never looked back!

[Guest prettypenny]

I have experience with other breeds and I am embarrased to admit it but, I am scared of scaring her. I have never seen her just sit in the two weeks we have owned her. She either stands or lays down. I thought if I caught her sitting I could use that word while she sits, but she wont. she has learned what the word "cookie" is...not sure if that is bad or not yet. is it ok to do the tradition push her bum down while saying sit? Lord, I sound like I have never owned a dog but she is so much more delicate than anyother dog I have owned. Thanks in advance for ideas!!

 

 

Laura

[Jackandgrey]

One real effective way to teach these guys to sit is to start with down. And then lure them up with a treat. If you start with the treat at their nose and lure them up slowly, you can do the "click" when they hit the sit position. That's how I taught Lima Bean.

 

This would be the only way i could teach Jess. When she lies down she always goes down from the front end first not the rear so I can't mark that action. I have never seen her sit on her own naturally. Jonah either. Ever!

 

Jilly on the other hand was easy to teach. she sat naturally and a modified hug and fold a time or two did the trick. She was so very smart though and had I known more at the time would have used a shaping with clicker method.

Edited July 29, 2011 by Jackandgrey

[Guest manawatugal]

I have experience with other breeds and I am embarrased to admit it but, I am scared of scaring her. I have never seen her just sit in the two weeks we have owned her. She either stands or lays down. I thought if I caught her sitting I could use that word while she sits, but she wont. she has learned what the word "cookie" is...not sure if that is bad or not yet. is it ok to do the tradition push her bum down while saying sit? Lord, I sound like I have never owned a dog but she is so much more delicate than anyother dog I have owned. Thanks in advance for ideas!!

 

 

Laura

Well we've just managed to teach our boy to sit after 4 months of on and off training. We got him to lie down pretty easily and we just said 'sit' when he naturally sat on the way to lying down on his bed or floor. Everytime he started to go down we said 'SIT' and then treat and praise. I tried the backing him into a corner way but that didn't work, tried pushing down his rear end that didn't work but can do now. Sometimes he sits crooked/to the side and sometimes straight back, we don't mind, he's still sitting. Obviously an alien concept to a greyhound. Just don't expect it to happen quickly but you never know, they are very willing to please and quite easy to train once they get the gist of what it is you want and if they are food motivated it makes training much easier in my opinion.

(Sorry just read some of the above and realise I've probably repeated what some of the other people have said)

Edited July 30, 2011 by manawatugal

[Guest krystolla]

Not sure if I should comment since Hack's sit is still a work in progress but . . .

 

I started out trying to catch him in the act of sitting, even as he's lying down. Unfortunately this boy does not do a natural sit, and doesn't so much lie down as collapse -- there's no "sit" to catch in either direction (getting up or lying down). I have seen a sit a few times in his kennel, so I know he can physically do it but if I approach he stands up or lies down. If he even remotely guesses there are treats somewhere he'll stand up and wait for them -- and I can't leave them out until he calms down because the cat steals them. (Said cat, incidentally, learned "sit" in about a half hour, .)

 

Next I tried the back-into-a-corner method. Hack was not comfortable being backed into a corner and only focused on escaping, totally not the training mood I'm looking for!

 

I tried the sitting-downhill method, but in this part of Ohio hills are hard to find and I don't have one in the backyard. I've discovered that once we leave the house and backyard, Hack is no longer interested in food of any kind (not burgers, not chicken, nothing) so sitting downhill was out.

 

So currently I'm working with the hug-and-fold method. He hasn't quite got the idea yet, but he's more comfortable with the seated position and he's figured out if he stays in whatever position I put him in he'll get treats until he moves.

 

Why teach sit? Well, Hack isn't a terribly confident dog and I think if I can teach him to be comfortable and trusting doing things that are slightly awkward he'll become more trusting overall. We're also working on recall and backing up but progress is slow -- Wednesday he was doing his obedience dog impression and today he gave me the stink eye and slunk off to his kennel. But if I wanted a training protege I would have stuck with the cat.

[Sambuca]

I tried to teach Bu with the hug and fold method. He tried to bite me. I think he had a hip injury before he came to me so sitting probably hurt. The trainer wanted me to continue to work on it. I told her no way if it hurts him. so just be careful. It's doable for many of these guys though. Bu is not st all well trained but he is very well behavedand I am totally ok with that.

[Batmom]

I teach using Kathleen Gilley's hug-and-fold method (http://dancinggreyhound.com/greyhounds_do_sit) . You really want to read this if you haven't, even if you would never ever consider using a hug-and-fold -- that's not what the method is about, so much. It isn't really about sitting either ......

 

I normally don't use treats to lure but rather as part of the reward.

 

Joseph learned to sit on command in @ 30 seconds flat using Kathleen's method. That 30 seconds didn't include the part where he got used to being touched .....

 

 

I have taught all my greyhounds (and nongreyhounds) who didn't already know the command to sit. It isn't something I require, though. Waiting, staying, acknowledging the handler at certain times -- these can all be done without a sit. Down-stay, stand-stay, shake hands, tap a ball, take a bow, spin in a circle, and a dozen other things can serve those purposes.

[3greytjoys]

I teach using Kathleen Gilley's hug-and-fold method (http://dancinggreyho...eyhounds_do_sit) . You really want to read this if you haven't, even if you would never ever consider using a hug-and-fold -- that's not what the method is about, so much. It isn't really about sitting either ......

 

I normally don't use treats to lure but rather as part of the reward.

 

I agree with Batmom re: using treat as reward.

 

I have used the method described in the highly respected site of the late, Kathleen Gilley for decades. It has worked for my other breeds, and for some of our Greyhounds and foster hounds, but I have had some Greyhounds for whom I would not try that that method. I would have been bitten by some less trusting hounds. That's why I prefer my method below which works with the Greyhound's daily natural movements, and rewarding with a treat for that movement.

 

 

Try to set your hound up for success.

 

Watch for the hound to walk towards their bed to lie down naturally. (This is easy with Greys! lol)

Get ready with treat in hand, and quickly move closer to the hound.

Once hound's rear end touches the ground/bed, you jump in to stand directly in front of the dog's body. Your body is blocking the hound (into a natural sit) while preventing dog from lying all the way down. Immediately say "sit" and treat the dog, and praise, praise, praise.

Do this whenever the dog goes to lie down naturally, and the hound will learn "sit" in no time!

[KF_in_Georgia]

I teach my dogs "sit" or "down". It's nice to be able to put down a bowl of dog food without being smacked in the face by an eager hound, so I made my dogs sit or down until I released them to eat.

 

I taught Oreo to sit by luring her up from a down position, clicking when she started up, clicking again when she had a nice sit, and treating lavishly.

 

Sam learned to sit in his foster home. To this day, he will sit on any surface in front of any person who has food. Or looks as if he might have food. Or looks as if he might be thinking about having food.

 

Jacey does not do a nice sit. She also does not due a Sphinx-down, nor will she consider sitting on a hill. And a hug-and-fold approach produces a rigid, rock-solid back end on the girl and a look of horrified disbelief that you're "embracing" her in that fashion. What Jacey will do, with adequate gastronomic incentive, is this:

 

or this:

 

Close enough.

[krissn333]

I am going to try luring Fritz up from a down. When he goes down, his front end goes down first, so there's no hope of just catching him on the way. We tried hug and fold the other day and I got the feeling he felt like he was in trouble (usually I'm only putting my hands on him in that way if I'm going to pick him up to flip him onto his side to do something medical to him ). We'll try luring and see how that goes - I really want to get him to sit reliably because then he'll be ready for the CGC test - everything else will be a breeze for him, it's just the sitting that we need to get

 

Edit, I also tried backing him into a corner. His butt hit the corner and he ran his body along the wall and had his head running up my stomach with his nose pointed up at me. If I had kept moving forward I'd have snapped him in half It never even occurred to him to just put his butt down to make more room!

Edited August 17, 2011 by krissn333

[krissn333]

Well, luring up from a down was a mega fail Getting him into a down is easy. In trying to lure him up, we had a couple of different outcomes: -1- he bends his head really far backwards, without moving his body. -2- he brings his butt up, then his front end, in an effort to get the treat.

 

Tried hug and fold again and now he's jumping out of the way if I even try.

 

I think I'm a terrible trainer. Maybe we'll get TDI certified instead.

[Guest greysmitten]

Despite being off the track for a few months before I adopted her, Azi caught on to the "sit" command fairly quickly (2-3 weeks). I literally waited until she sat and then said "SIT!" and proceeded to go bananas with happiness.

 

However, she still doesn't seem to like doing it while on leash and absolutely will not sit if I so much as touch her bum to "encourage" the action. Often, she does a circle before sitting as well. Princess Azi takes her time to get comfy, I suppose.

 

I would also recommend trying to teach him to sit on a rug or other soft surface. Azi will often run to a rug or patch of grass when asked to sit. I'm assuming it's simply more comfortable for the bony Greyhound hip.

 

Cheers,

m.

Edited August 19, 2011 by greysmitten

[Guest AmberStar47988]

I taught Adam to sit by issuing the command, holding a yummy piece of food above his head, slowly moving it straight toward the back of his head (so he was too interested to really register the intrusive nature of the next part), and gently scooping the back of his legs. Worked like a charm! But it did backfire. Shortly after he mastered sit, he went up to my mom. He sat for her, so she said, "Good boy!" and got him a treat. Five minutes later, he randomly sat for her again. A joyful "Good boy!" and another treat for Adam. A short time later, another sit for Mom. As she said "Good boy!" and went for the treat jar, it suddenly dawned on her. Adam had taught Mom how to get his treats for him!

[Feisty49]

I have had my grey Ember for about 6 months and am shocked at how quickly she learned. She learned "banana" and "cookie" right away, but I was nervous about teaching her to sit. Ember learned to sit on command quite by accident. She was getting ready to lay down on her bed and I stopped her and said "sit" and then gave her a treat right away. After a few practice rounds she got it and will now do it easily on command. But she will only sit on her bed or a carpeted area, otherwise her front legs slide out from under her.

 

 

(Out of topic: Just wanted to say I love the name Ember. It's my granddaughter's name also! LOL)

[Feisty49]

Envious of those who have had success with sitting of your Greyhound. My Annie has such a pleasant, loving personality, that I am thinking of having her become a therapy dog. I'm finding, though, that as smart as she is is also as stubborn as she is. She is refusing to learn anything, other than heeling half the time.

 

I have had a dog trainer here to teach *me* how to teach her, but again, Annie is proving to be stubborn. The trainer's method of teaching to sit is to use a treat held up over the head until the effort of the dog raising her head makes her butt go down. Ha! Once Annie realized that she had to "perform" for her favorite treat, she lost interest and laid down on her bed. She passed up her favorite cheddar cheese bits to ignore me. My next attempt will be Kathleen Gilley's hold and scoop.

[a_daerr]

It took me a LONG time to teach my dog Henry how to sit. I wanted him to test for his TDI, and it is necessary that the dogs (even greyhounds) sit on command. We actually participated in a greyhound-only basic obedience class and NONE of the dogs were good sitters. To my understanding, it's a very unnatural movement for most greys. They're usually completely up or completely down. "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" has a great section on teaching sit. Unfortunately, the only way that worked with Henry was to physically scoop him and slowly lean him back into a sit. If you're going to do it this way, it's important that your greyhound really trusts you! I only needed to do this a couple times, just to get him used to the movement. He was still very cautious at first, and we had to work extensively with different surfaces, etc. We also used lots and lots of good treats (Henry loved cheese). Now, he's a sitting fool. Good luck!

 

[Guest Tabby]

OMG! I just love that picture with the bunny ears!!!!

[a_daerr]

Here comes Henry Cotton Tail! I want to take him to see the Easter bunny this year. It would be like an ironic revenge.

[muddgirl]

I'm in a greyhound-only positive-reinforcement obedience class right now, and the trainer recommended that, during a nightly doggy-massage to teach the dog to allow people to touch his whole body while he's lying down, you can gently bend and extend his hind legs to get him used to the kind of motion that is required for a sit. (note that Batman was very used to and amenable to being touched while lying down if we warned him first, but I know that some hounds are more reactive, and you might have to slowly work up to doing this, or even do it while they're standing up)

 

We were having trouble with sit before (using the lure method), and the leg exercises definitely seemed to help.

[sobesmom]

I read the original question - but did not read any responses to it. In my personal opinion - I've NEVER found a reason to teach a grey to sit. I've never witnessed either of my 2 greys, or the 15 fosters I've had - EVER sit, of their own choosing.

 

I just don't thnk it works for them comfortably. You CAN teach a grey to sit. Many of the greys I've seen people demonstrate their grey's "sit" - look like uncomfortable squatting frogs to me.

 

I've just never found a reason to make a grey do that. I've taught other behaviours, such as down (lie down) or "stay", or "stand", or "wait" - that serve the same purpose.

[krissn333]

A friend who is a CGC evaluator told me that they were told to REQUIRE greyhounds to sit to earn their CGC. However, the TDI certification rules do not require a sit, just a down or polite standing. Initially we were goig to try for the CGC, but doing sit with Fritz is not a fun activity for him at all and he quickly loses interest. IMO doing therapy work should be fun for the dog, and I am fairly certain he can pass the TDI testing without much extra work other than working on the stay while I walk away.

[Guest IndyHound]

The Best way I have found is to have a treat in hand and slowly move the treat directly over their head toward the middle of their back. Then when they sit to get a better look at the treat say sit praise and give them the treat.

[Guest mnblewis1]

Great tips. I was never able to get my grey to sit either. I wanted to do the therapy dog thing but they had to pass the canine good citizen test before they could do therapy work. We went to a training class but he would just stand there and shake when I wanted him to sit.