# Sit became Down...



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

Hey all,

Micah used to be awesome at sitting, one "sit" and his butt will just hit the floor, but somehow right now. His sit is slowly shaping into the down... When I say "down" he lies down. When I say sit, first he sits, then slowly he slides back into a "down" position. How can I undo this?

Also, when he is down, everytime I just walk towards him, he would just turn over and ask you to scratch his belly. No matter what I'm trying to do, brush him. Give him food, give him a treat. Bring him to the toilet, carry him. ANYTHING he would roll over... I think this is because my "helper" (domestic helper) does nothing but scratch his belly all day. Is this going to be bad in the long term?

Thanks all,
Ivan


----------



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

Also, I'm getting increasingly stressed... Micah does NOT pay attention to me no matter how much I practice the attention command with him. I would call Micah. and when he looks at me, I give him a treat...

It just doesn't work. When I'm trying to get him to sit at times, he would just wander away... or even decide to chase his own tail...

What am I doing wrong?

(Sorry I've had a super stressing day at school today... probably explains my lack of patience...)

But I'm starting to wonder if what I'm doing make sense AT ALL. Everythiing I'm doing... could be wrong for all I know.


----------



## Nicole&Zack (Feb 27, 2007)

Again...he is still young but now is a good time to start training and showing him that you are the boss.
Make training sessions very short. When you tell him to sit, make sure he sits. If he lays down say *no* and put him back in the sit. If he runs away from you, get him back. You wanna put a leash on him so you can get him back easy.
Micah sounds just like my kids.....i can imagine what micah is doing.:smooch: 
How do you practice the *watch me*?
Turning over when he see's you, i think he is showing you that he knows you are the boss...i wouldnt scratch his belly at that point...just ignore it. Make him do something before you scratch...
There is no point in teaching a dog something when you are stressed.....take a deep breath, relax and then start.


----------



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

Yea thanks, gotta start telling people to stop scratching his belly...

Also, yeah I spent almost a half an hour (in 5 mins sessions) training him to watch me. Well, I usually make him watch me when I call his name... does that work, or should I have a seperate "look" command?

(Oh and Nicole, I'm so sorry I'm not done with your signature yet. Been busy like HECK. I just had 2 science lab reports due yesterday, and another project due soon)


----------



## Nicole&Zack (Feb 27, 2007)

Okay...do 5 min session every half hour or so....
Watch me: hold a treat in one hand, make him sit, hold the hand to the side and tell him to watch you. As soon as his eyes are on you give him the treat. You can also have a treat in your hand (something that he REALLY likes). Close your hand and let him sniff it (dont give it to him), he will look at you like*hey whats wrong with you? give me the treat*...as soon as he takes his mouth of your hand and looks at you, give him the treat.
Dont confuse him just yet with to many commands.
And make sure you use the same word...dont switch them around.
I would just call him and when he comes say *come micah* in a happy voice. Dont sound forceful...be happy and excited, get his attention by sqeacking a toy or something.


----------



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

What I meant was, should watch me be another seperate command (word) or can it actually be his name? So when I say his name, he looks at me...


----------



## Nicole&Zack (Feb 27, 2007)

You can use whatever you want...just stay with it, dont change it. You can use his name.....


----------



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

Great! Thanks


----------



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Your doing a great job with Micah, think about how much he's learned. He is just a baby still and his attention span is very short. 

Personally I think you do want a separate command for "look" or "watch me" than his name. You will be giving him a lot of commands that should start with his name, Micah down, Micah sit, Micah stay, etc., so the look command should be something specific. My opinion.


----------



## Mandyjac (Apr 5, 2007)

Hi! If you have someone else to help you, there is a great attention game that we play with out pup. We stand about 4 feet apart with Maya in the middle. One of us will call "Maya" in a real exciting/happy tone. When she makes eye contact that person gives her a treat and says "yes!". Then as she is eating, the other person (who is 3-4 feet behind her) calls her name again. At first it takes a second, but she eventually turns her head to look at the second person. When the eye contact is made we give her the treat and say "yes!", and then the first person starts over again. It has worked really well for us, and Maya thinks it is a great game. Give it a try when you have someone over! Good luck!


----------



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Training works best on an empty stomach. Micah's stomach, not yours!


----------



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

another thought.... When you do sit...is the next "trick" down? He might just be anticipating the next "trick" because he knows he'll get a treat. Carson does this, if I have him sit and don't give him his treat right away...he'll go through all the tricks he knows, hoping for that treat. 

Try switching it up....go from down to sit, or from standing to down....


----------



## bizzy (Mar 30, 2007)

What type of flooring are you working on? If its a smooth surface try on one with more grip like carpet or a rug. He may be sliding into a down because he is slipping and rather than resist and keep the sit positon he just goes with it.


----------



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

Carsonsdaddy said:


> another thought.... When you do sit...is the next "trick" down? He might just be anticipating the next "trick" because he knows he'll get a treat. Carson does this, if I have him sit and don't give him his treat right away...he'll go through all the tricks he knows, hoping for that treat.
> 
> Try switching it up....go from down to sit, or from standing to down....


Yea well I think he is anticipacting his next trick...

But for some reason, Micah doesn't get... "down" and then "sit".. how can I teach him that?


----------



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

IvanD said:


> But for some reason, Micah doesn't get... "down" and then "sit".. how can I teach him that?


The way I do it is to have him "down". Then hold the treat just above where he can reach it while he's in "down"...he'll try to get it...tell him "sit" as you are doing this...as he tries to reach the treat he'll eventually get up... Now the trick is to get him to go to "sit" instead of standing up to get the treat.... Don't give him the treat until he's in "sit". Eventually he'll get it.


----------



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

P.S. You can also use this same technique to teach him to stand on his back legs only. You're basically teasing him with the treat to do what you want.


----------



## IvanD (Mar 25, 2007)

I never taught Micah like that simply because it doesn't work. I thought my aunt's Yorkshire Terrier to sit and down with a treat. Not with Micah. He's just.... too stubborn. He'll jump on you, back away when you move the treat over his head. Everything


----------



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

IvanD said:


> I never taught Micah like that simply because it doesn't work. I thought my aunt's Yorkshire Terrier to sit and down with a treat. Not with Micah. He's just.... too stubborn. He'll jump on you, back away when you move the treat over his head. Everything


Carson did that too....you just gotta be patient/firm with him. Every now and then Carson(he's only 7.5 months) will forget and try to jump on me for the treat....then he doesn't get it, unless he does what I tell him. He'll get it eventually...just keep on him.


----------



## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

I think what you need to do is, first and formost remember this is just a little puppy. If I remember correctly he was. Puppies have very short attention spans, this is why you do things in such short intervals in the beginning stages. Don't get mad at him, or angry...just remember he's a baby. I know your striving for a well trained golden, and you I am sure will get that...but take it slow and easy, when you see he's getting bored with it, do something fun! Looks like everyone else has offered excellent advice, and I see I've repeated some of it...sorry, I just looked up. Work with one command first at a time, once you know he's got it, then you move to another command and work on that. Once you know he's got that then you can begin combining...short sessions, maybe a few times a day in the beginning. Most importantly, keep it fun!

Scratching tummy is fine, mine to this day loves tummy rubs and he's over two years of age now. That in itself is saying something to you. He's very trusting of you and those that he does this with.

Oh, praise can be used instead of food. Also a favorite toy. With some dogs food will make them go into excitement mode and then it can cause what your seeing, Kode was like that when younger.


----------

