# Antsy Sit



## Fara Bennett (Apr 12, 2008)

I have my girl, 18 mo old working line dobe, sit before allowing her to do almost anything. Must sit before getting in truck, coming in from outside, before coming out of crate, etc.

She sits lightning quick, but half the time she is so excited that she adjusts her sit by moving forward or to the side a couple of inches. She anticipates the release so much that her neck is outstretched so far that she becomes almost horizontal - if that makes sense - and she sometimes almost falls forward and she has to catch herself and settle back. Often times her butt is not even completely on the ground, it just hovers a few inches above. Her focus on me is intense, just waiting for her release, but still, I need to fix this :-? 

When she gets antsy like this I will tell her ah-ah, easy, and make her wait - which helps for that particular occasion but it doesn't prevent it for the next time.

Any tips or ideas?
Thanks, Fara


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## marcy bukkit (Oct 4, 2007)

First, check the basics. Have you taught a stay? Have you worked under a variety of distractions? Have you gradually increased duration, distance, distraction? If these haven't really been taught ~ and it sounds like they haven't, then she is being asked to perform in a situation she isn't quite ready for.

Otherwise, let her be responsible for her choices. Put her on a sit, and then let her break. As soon as she actually breaks, put her back on a sit. The "ah-ah" is extra commands and she's depending on that and depending on you to prevent her from making a mistake.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

The hover sit isn't uncommon for Dobes. Every time you release from this it renforces a bad sit. 
I prefer NOT to let the dog break a stationary exercise. That only teaches it that it can! 
Mark and reward for correct sits only. GRADUALLY extend time and distance but never in the same exercise. When you add time, the distance is close. When you add distance, the time is short. 
AKC teaches a stay command. I prefer to teach, as in Schutzhund, that any command is to be held till I give a release. Sit, down, stand mean just that!


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## Lynsey Fuegner (Apr 11, 2007)

at what point is she getting the reward for the sit? You may already be doing this (it's so hard to gauge through a thread without actually seeing the exercise) but if it were me I would tell the dog to sit and then calmly wait until she calmed down in her sit command; since she is so excited and into you waiting for the release command I would think that any feedback (positive or negative) may increase the excitement. I would tell her sit and just wait patiently (even if this takes a few minutes at first), only rewarding the sits that happens to be with a calm demeanor...any time she is being rewarded she is taking into account her entire state of being, not just the position she is in.


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## Guest (Apr 16, 2008)

I'd also sparingly use the sit for everyday situations in which you need immobility, especially when there's some sort of reward or interesting situation to his front.

When presented with some forward facing reward (i.e. running to the basement, jumping into the car), I battle the same thing. Hence, when I want him to stay put during day-to-day operations, I put him in a platz. Just seems more stable, and doesn't constantly endanger the sit.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

This is another case of needing to tighten up the definition of a behavior. What does "sit" mean?

To immediately place your behind on the ground, without rolling on to your hip. To plant your feet and not move, until commanded otherwise.

First, stop using the sit to cap drive. It's not working day-to-day situations because capping drive is like shaking a soda bottle.

Teach an informal stay command to mean "stay in this general spot and attempt to be calm."

Then start from zero and retrain the sit. Use a clicker style of training with a bridge and a no-reward marker like "Aht." 

Have her sit, use the bridge to communicate that she is doing it right. When she shows excitement, hover-butt, leaning forward, or moves a paw, use the no-reward marker and start over.

Look for a fraction of a second of the correct behavior. Go slowly and get accuracy first. Then add duration very slowly.

Remember to use variations of sit and stay to see if the dgo truly understands what you want it to. For instance, a lot of dogs stay if you move away from them, but if you move towards them or step in their space, they break.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

And don't look directly into her eyes while you're waiting. This will only amp her up more and make her more likely to break.


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## Fara Bennett (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks everyone! Gave me a lot to think about.

It made me realize some of what I may have been doing wrong. These occasions that I mentioned where she gets antsy are during normal, informal situations. During these times I often didn't even give a command. Since I raised her giving her the sit command for most things she just learned that it was expected of her when entering the house, truck, yard, crate, etc. I stopped giving a command for all these informal occasions because she just knew what was expected and did it - not perfectly though. During our OB exercises, Schutzhund style, she never does this.

I am wondering if the problem might be that I don't give a command for these informal situations? So far, the few times I tried it today with a verbal command she has planted herself and not moved.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

If your competing, use two different commands if you like. One formal "sit" and informal plant, butt, or whatever works for you.


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## marcy bukkit (Oct 4, 2007)

Fara Bennett said:


> Thanks everyone! Gave me a lot to think about.
> 
> It made me realize some of what I may have been doing wrong. These occasions that I mentioned where she gets antsy are during normal, informal situations. During these times I often didn't even give a command. Since I raised her giving her the sit command for most things she just learned that it was expected of her when entering the house, truck, yard, crate, etc. I stopped giving a command for all these informal occasions because she just knew what was expected and did it - not perfectly though. During our OB exercises, Schutzhund style, she never does this.
> 
> I am wondering if the problem might be that I don't give a command for these informal situations? So far, the few times I tried it today with a verbal command she has planted herself and not moved.


Yea, I've had that happen - behavior becomes automatic under certain circumstances, command is no longer given because the behavior is performed without it, the training slowly starts to regress a bit as the dog is no longer reminded that this is a commanded behavior.


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