Sit Stay

[baileyb]

Hi all

I need some help please. My boy has begun shuffling/ re-adjusting position in his sit stay and not only am I unsure why he is doing it but I have no idea how to stop it.

He doesnt break from position but I'm sure it would score a zero in the ring from most judges.

Does anyone have any suggestions? :D

[Tapferhund]

BaileyB , I know EXACTLY what you are going through as I have a boy who does the same, fidgets and shifts his bum just high enough (1cm sometimes) for the Judge to see enough daylight to fail him. Stupid stupid rule IMO to NQ dogs for something that really should be a point loss as it is nothing more than shuffling...but there is not much I/we can do about stupid rules.

The adjusting mostly comes from the dog suffering from a bit of anxiety when you leave him. Try going back to basics and keep returning to praise/reward him. Each training session and providing he stays .....slowly start increasing the distance and time you are away from him. You could also try 'back tying' him to something like a post during his stays and when he moves he will feel the tug on the tie which will be self correcting ..so he learns that moving doesn't get him anywhere.

[dogdude]

What system of reward do you use?

I would shorten the time and distance, and use T.O.T to fix it, using a negative marking word each time the dog shuffles,.........break from the exercise, and start again. No need raise your voice or sound grumpy while marking negatively. You don't want the dog to lose the drive needed to stay still.

With those little problems, you need to let the dog know that what he is doing is not acceptable the instant he does it. Waiting more than a second is too late.

Make the dog do it for his dinner. He will soon learn to keep still.

Another tip is to demand maximum focus while he is doing it. This will minimise outside distractions that may be making him too relaxed.

Make sure the dog is in a well balanced sit to start with.

[baileyb]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Its really interesting to read two totally different replies as to why this is could be happening and each of them would apply to any number of dogs but in this case I think dogdude has hit the nail on the head as far as my boy is concerned.

For quite a while he was sitting at attention eyeballing me, which would cause him to bark. Now after heaps of work he spends he stays sticky beaking at whatever is going on around the ground and not having a care in the world. I always though distractions were great but I think he is now forgetting what he is meant to be doing.

Anyway, its back to the drawing board for me. I need to find the happy medium here, I think. Relaxed and focussed, mmmm!!!

Thanks again for your help.

[springdog]

I agree with dogdude and i assume you are refering to a Springer, focus is so important and lets face it Springer will do anything for food.

My Springer doesnt take his eyes off me during his stays and he is trained with alot of food but only when his does the exercise correct.

Good luck.

[Lablover]

Hi all

I need some help please. My boy has begun shuffling/ re-adjusting position in his sit stay and not only am I unsure why he is doing it but I have no idea how to stop it.

He doesnt break from position but I'm sure it would score a zero in the ring from most judges.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Stay means stay, as sit means sit in my household. It is nothing to do with retrieving trials really, simply it may help to save one of my dog's life one day.

Does your dog shuffle as you test/generalise the command.....at EVERY opportunity?

[baileyb]

This has nothing to do with retrieving trials. It is in a "sit stay" in obedience and he shuffles but does not break from the stay position.