Are you working to teach your Volpino Italiano to sit? The technique of sitting up is quickly taught to very small dogs, yet much larger canines are a different story. It’s problematic for them to keep their balance.
Teach Your Volpino Italiano to Sit: Groundwork
Sitting up is one of the very first techniques that should be taught to your Volpino Italiano and is the ground work for quite a few other skills. To train a Volpino Italiano to sit up, organize some treats as a reward, and set your Volpino Italiano on her butt in the corner, to ensure that she will not fall either aft or sideways and has very little or no space to lose balance.
Teach Your Volpino Italiano to Sit: Familiarize Her With The Command
Prevent her from tilting towards you by sticking 1 hand on her chin and with your second hand hold the treat above the Volpino Italiano’s nose. Keep repeating deliberately and distinctly, “sit up.” Don’t make her sit for too long at any one time, but do repeat the lesson frequently and reward her often with lots of approval and treats.
Teach Your Volpino Italiano to Sit: Help Her Maintain Balance
Throughout the first lesson your Volpino Italiano will need significant help from you to keep her from pitching forward, but as she gets better control of the stabilizing muscles and realises what you want her to do, she will rely less and less on your hand to keep her in position. Then you can gradually give her less support till you’ll merely have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from her chin or neck, to be available to stop her from falling forward; later on you might withdraw the hand completely and merely dangle the snack right over the level of her face.
Teach Your Volpino Italiano To Sit: Remove the Aids Incrementally
With steady practice your Volpino Italiano will stay seated for a good while after you command her. Next she should be set up against the wall, so as to provide her support for her back only. Soon after she has understood this and can hold her posture effortlessly, practice with her against chair legs, cushions or other things that provide her less and less aid. At some point she will be trained to keep her equilibrium and sit up without something to rest on.
Teach Your Volpino Italiano to Sit: Putting It All Together
During all this training the phrase "sit up" will have been instilled upon her subconscious by means of persistent repetition. Now comes the final training to teach your Volpino Italiano to sit up immediately after she hears the phrase. It's highly likely, if she has been properly trained, you will only have to get her out into the room, reveal a reward, hold it up a reasonable distance from the floor, say "sit up or sit" and she will obey. Then give her the reward while still in place.
The only prerequisite for perfection is to practice with your Volpino Italiano multiple times daily until she sits when told and without being shown a snack; give her the treats only once she has followed the order.
Teach Your Volpino Italiano Other Tricks
You have now the basis for teaching your Volpino Italiano many other tricks. She now can learn to beg by waving your hand up and down in front of her paws, which she will move in sync with yours. She also can learn to salute by bringing one paw to the side of her head, or to hold a toy in her mouth, or to wear a cap on her head or wear other articles of clothing.
When teaching a Volpino Italiano to tolerate being clothed, don't try to make her wear too many garments at once. Try her at first with a hat. Soon after she gets familiar with that you could put on a coat and progressively introduce her to the other clothes.
Appreciate "teaching your Volpino Italiano the sit up trick" and most importantly have fun while you're doing it!
Don't forget to check out these other articles about Volpino Italianos
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