Are you trying to teach your Spanish Mastiff to sit? The technique of sitting up is regularly taught to pocket-sized dogs, though bigger doggies are another story. It’s hard for them to keep their balance.
Teach Your Spanish Mastiff to Sit: Preparation
Sitting is one of the very first skills that should be taught to a Spanish Mastiff and forms the ground work for plenty of other tricks. To train a Spanish Mastiff to sit up, organize some treats as a reward, and set your Spanish Mastiff on her butt in a corner, to ensure that she won’t fall either aft or sideways and has very little or no space to stumble.
Teach Your Spanish Mastiff to Sit: Acquaint Her With The Phrase
Keep her from falling forward by holding your hand beneath her chin and using the other hand hold her snack above your Spanish Mastiff’s face. Keep saying intelligibly and distinctly, “sit up.” Do not make her sit too long at one time, however repeat the lesson routinely and reward her frequently with loads of approval and treats.
Teach Your Spanish Mastiff to Sit: Help Her Stay Balanced
During the initial lesson your Spanish Mastiff will call for a lot of help and support from your hand to prevent her from pitching forward, but as she gains better control of the stabilizing muscles and is aware of what you want, she will rely less and less upon your hand to hold her in position. Then you can gradually give your Spanish Mastiff less support till you will basically have to leave one hand in position two or three inches from her neck or chin, to be available to stop her from falling forward; in the future you can easily withdraw the hand completely and just simply suspend the snack just over the level of her face.
Teach Your Spanish Mastiff To Sit: Remove the Help Slowly
After constant practice your Spanish Mastiff will stay seated for a long time after you tell her to. Then she should be set up against a wall, so as to offer her a support for her back. When she has gotten the knack of this and can maintain her position easily, rehearse with her using chair legs, cushions or other items that offer her less and less assistance. Gradually she will be able to preserve her balance and sit up without anything to rest against.
Teach Your Spanish Mastiff to Sit: Putting It All Together
During the course of all these lessons the command "sit up" will have been impressed upon her psyche through persistent repetition. Now here's the final lesson to teach your Spanish Mastiff to sit up right after she hears the command. There's a great chance, if she has been properly trained, you will merely have to get her out in the room, show a treat, hold it up a reasonable distance from the floor, say "sit up or sit" and she will obey. Then you'll just give her the treat while still in place.
The only criteria for perfection is to practice with her several times a day until she will sit up when commanded to and without being shown a reward; give her the treats only once she has followed the direction.
Teach Your Spanish Mastiff Other Tricks
You have now the technique for teaching your Spanish Mastiff many other tricks. She can now learn how to beg by waving your hand up and down in front of her paws, which she'll move in rhythm with yours. She also can learn to salute by moving one paw to the side of her head, or to hold a toy in her mouth, or to wear a hat on her head or wear other articles of clothing.
In teaching a Spanish Mastiff to accept being clothed, don't try to make her wear too many garments at the same time. Try at first with a hat. After she becomes accustomed to that you could put on a jacket and incrementally introduce her to more garments.
Delight in "teaching your Spanish Mastiff the sit up trick" and most importantly have fun in the process!
Don't forget to check out these other articles about Spanish Mastiffs
Was this post helpful? If so, please take a minute to Tweet and Share below on Facebook. I would also love to know your thoughts so leave me a comment 🙂
Follow