Are you working to teach your Malinois to sit? The skill of sitting up is quickly taught to small dogs, but much larger canines are another story. It’s challenging for them to sustain their balance.
Teach Your Malinois to Sit: Prep work
Sitting up is one of the initial techniques that you should teach to a Malinois and provides the ground work for myriad other tricks. To train a Malinois to sit up, prep some snacks as a reward, and put the Malinois on her butt in a corner, so she won’t fall either aft or sideways and has very little or no room to lose balance.
Teach Your Malinois to Sit: Familiarize Her With The Command
Stop her from falling to the front by securing 1 hand on her chin and with the other hand dangle her snack above the Malinois’s nose. Keep saying intelligibly and clearly, “sit.” Do not make her sit for too long at one time, but do repeat the training routinely and reward her frequently with loads of kudos and treats.
Teach Your Malinois to Sit: Help Her Maintain Balance
During the very first lesson your Malinois will demand considerable support from your hand to stop her from pitching forward, but as she gets control of the muscles and realises what you want, she will count less upon your hand to keep her steady. Then you can gradually give her less support until you will merely have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from her chin or neck, to be prepared to prevent her from falling forward; later you may take away this hand completely and just simply suspend the treat just above the height of your Malinois’s face.
Teach Your Malinois To Sit: Remove the Aids Gradually Over Time
With steady practice she will sit up well after you tell her to. Afterward she should be set up against your wall, so as to give her help for her back. When she has grasped this and can maintain her position effortlessly, practice with her against chair legs, pillows or other items that give her less and less support. Eventually she will master how to keep her balance and sit without needing something to rest against.
Teach Your Malinois to Sit: Putting It All Together
During all these lessons the phrase "sit up" will have been ingrained upon her psyche through regular repetition. Last here's the final training to teach your Malinois to sit up right after she hears the command. It's highly likely, if she has been diligently trained, you will just have to get her out in the room, reveal to her a treat, hold it up a reasonable distance from the floor, say "sit up or sit" and she'll do so. Then give her the reward while still in position.
The only condition for perfection is to train with your Malinois several times daily until she will sit up when told and without being shown a reward; give her the treats only after she has followed the direction.
Teach Your Malinois Other Tricks
You have now the groundwork for teaching your Malinois many other tricks. She now can be taught to beg by moving your hand up and down in front of her paws, which she'll move in rhythm with yours. She can also be taught to salute by bringing one paw to the side of her head, or to keep something in her mouth, or to wear a hat on her head or wear other articles of clothing.
When instructing a Malinois to tolerate being dressed up, do not try to make her wear too many items simultaneously. Try her at first with just a cap. Soon after she becomes familiar with that you can put on a coat and eventually introduce her to the other garments.
Take joy in "teaching your Malinois the sit up trick" and most importantly have fun in the process!
Don't forget to check out these other articles about Malinoiss
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