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Guest debi_s

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I can't help thinking the obedience school you're going to might be the wrong place for you and your greyhound.....she sat on your greyhound to teach him??? find a school that knows what they're doing. My dog would be totally traumatized if someone sat on him or forced him into any position. Just my humble opinion.

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Both of mine learned to sit from the Sphinx or down position, I would hold a treat directly over their nose and click / say sit as they came up into the sit position. Gracie sits very prettily anyplace, Carl however, still comes up into a sit from a full down position .... unless he backs into his bed and sits his butt there like Nigel.

gallery_13728_3197_7131.jpg

 

 

Charla, Mom to Carl ( Bella Monsoon ) 5/2002 - 9/2016 and remembering Gracie Rose ( Cee Bar Xtreme ) 2/2002 - 1/2014

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Guest verthib
1329576587[/url]' post='5170232']

Hi,

I would say my grey is having trouble learning to "sit"--however, I realize that it is MY problem TEACHING the command.

 

I am a previous greyhound mom, Lori, lived 13 1/2 years and was the love of our home!!! After losing her to cancer it took us another 5 years to build up the courage to do it again and adopted Flame from Greyhound Friends of NC in Feb 2011.

 

2 days after welcoming her into our home my father died and life has been a bit upside down until now. I have enrolled Flame in Obedience classes (with the intention of getting her pet therapy certified) -- (I am a Hospice Nurse). First class did not go well---- :headwall

 

Question: How can I better teach the "sit" command AND (**!!!**) is there possibly a training class/instructor close to my area (Gaffney, SC-Upstate SC) that is more 'in tune' with greyhounds???

 

Thanks in advance for all the help and advice I KNOW you will have for me!!! :bow2

 

Please keep in mind not all greyhounds like to sit. It's not typically characteristic of them to do it naturally for a reason. (there are obviously some exceptions). If you're having difficulty, try teaching stand/stay or down/stay. She may not be comfortable sitting so I wouldn't beat a dead horse and keep trying.

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I can't help thinking the obedience school you're going to might be the wrong place for you and your greyhound.....she sat on your greyhound to teach him??? find a school that knows what they're doing. My dog would be totally traumatized if someone sat on him or forced him into any position. Just my humble opinion.

 

I completely agree that not every obedience trainer understands the sensitive Greyhound breed, particularly retired racers. Obedience actions are completely foreign to retired racers. Greyhounds are highly intelligent, and often learn things differently than other breeds. Many hounds would never consider allowing anyone (especially a stranger or a new owner) to use any forceful method on them. (They'd stop that in a hurry with a growl or bite!) I much prefer to work with a Greyhound's natural behaviors, and build upon those behaviors.

 

Greyhounds are very easy to train the basics at home with their natural daily movements. In general, watch the dog to catch him/her doing something right naturally, so you're simply teaching the hound a "word" for his/her natural action, then treat and praise, praise, praise.

 

Training should always be done in a happy environment. The dog should feel like it's a fun game to learn something new. :)

If patience thins, stop and try again the following day (or later, if needed). A dog will shut down fast if training isn't fun. Work towards building trust, being very careful not to create distrust (as that "obedience trainer" did!).

 

(If a Greyhound has any rear leg or back pain, or old injury, I would not recommend teaching "sit".)

 

All of our hounds, and all our fosters were trained successfully with these methods. Here is a snippet of one of my previous posts:

(Posted 17 June 2011)

 

Try to set your hound up for success.

Watch for the hound to lie down naturally (easy with Greys).

Get ready with special treat in hand.

Once hound's rear end touches carpet (or dog bed - if no space aggression), you move over 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 give a yummy treat, and praise, praise, praise with happy excitement.

 

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

 

If desired: A clicker can be used if you want to "click" immediately when the hound's rear end touches the carpet (or dog bed), but just treating with a special/rare treat works fine in most cases. (A person can make a clicker sound (like horseback riders) if you don't have a clicker training tool available.)

 

Another method: Some hounds can be lured up to a sit, from a down, but that can be more difficult for a non-food motivated hound, and some hounds are less likely to move again once lying down.

 

Some hounds do a side sit vs. straight sit. This is fine as far as I'm concerned considering a Greyhound's body design. I'd never expect a Greyhound to sit for a long period. Their long racing legs make sitting (especially a "straight" sit) less comfortable than other breeds.

 

Repeat your preferred method once or twice per day (under 5 minutes) until the hound "gets it". (Dogs have a short attention span.)

 

Greyhounds learn best with gentle, positive training methods (no physical force). Even something as simple as guiding a hound onto a scale at the vet's office. Better to lead gently with the leash (circle around if needed) vs. trying to manhandle him/her into place.

 

A bath mat with a rubber undersurface would help in class, but I would find a positive method trainer. Good luck, and please let us know how it goes.

Edited by 3greytjoys
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Guest itsagreytlife

For Selah and sitting, I found the "capture" method to be the only method that worked (for me). It required me to have the clicker handy a lot (in pocket or in hand like when I was on couch). Whenever she started to lie down and would be in that darling, regal grey "sit" for a split second, I would click, and then crazy praise her for her "Nice Sit!" "Good Girl Sit!" etc. And usually threw her a treat. I also would "catch" her when she sat down to scratch her neck or ears, something she does because she has some kind of allergy--so I used that to my advantage! (I might add that we did a lot of clicker training previously so she associated the clicker with praise). Did that several times (even got off my bum sometimes to give her some pets)and then was able to start using the sit command with some serious directed training and we had success (so very exciting)!!

 

At first the little cutie would look around to find the nearest dog bed and then run and sit on that(with a look that said "Is this good enough?"). Now she looks around for the nearest carpeted surface, so we are making progress. :rolleyes: I now have her giving paw when she sits (and sometimes stands) and its the most adorable thing 'cause she'll do it when she gets confused about a command.

 

I tried to get her to sit by "folding" her legs but she just kept scampering away and I didn't want to freak her out.

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