Are you trying to teach your Old English Terrier to sit? The skill of sitting up is regularly taught to small dogs, yet larger pet dogs are another story. It is difficult for them to keep their balance.
Teach Your Old English Terrier to Sit: Readiness
Sitting is one of the very first techniques that should be taught to a Old English Terrier and provides the foundation for innumerable other techniques. In order to train a Old English Terrier to sit up, prep some snacks as a perk, and put the Old English Terrier on her rump in a corner, to ensure she is not able to fall either aft or sideways and has very little or no room to stumble.
Teach Your Old English Terrier to Sit: Acquaint Her With The Command
Keep her from falling forward by keeping 1 hand under her chin and with the other hand dangle her snack above the Old English Terrier’s nose. Keep repeating distinctly and deliberately, “sit up.” Do not make her sit for too long at any one time, but do repeat the instruction routinely and reward her often with loads of kudos and snacks.
Teach Your Old English Terrier to Sit: Help Her Keep Her Balance
In the beginner lesson your Old English Terrier will require a surprising amount of help and support from you to stop her from falling forward, but as she gets better control of her muscles and grasps what you want her to do, she’ll count less upon your hand to keep her steady. Gradually, you can give your Old English Terrier less help up until you’ll merely have to leave one hand in position two or three inches from her chin or neck, to be set to prevent her falling forward; later on you can easily withdraw your hand entirely and just simply hold the reward right over the height of her head.
Teach Your Old English Terrier To Sit: Remove the Help Slowly
After consistent training she will stay seated for a good while after you set her up. The next step is she should be set against your wall, so as to provide her support for her back. Only after she has understood this and can hold her posture effortlessly, practice with her using chair legs, cushions or other things that offer her less and less help. In time she will be trained to sustain her equilibrium and sit without needing something to rest against.
Teach Your Old English Terrier to Sit: Putting It All Together
During all this training the phrase "sit up" will have been impressed upon her subconscious by regular repetition. Now is the final training to teach your Old English Terrier to sit up immediately after she hears the phrase. It's highly likely, if she has been properly taught, you will merely have to get her out in the room, show to her a reward, hold it up a reasonable distance from the floor, say "sit up or sit" and she'll do so. Then you give her the snack while still in position.
The only necessity for perfection is to train with your Old English Terrier several times daily until she can sit up when commanded to and without being shown a treat; give her the treats only once she has adhered to the command.
Teach Your Old English Terrier Other Tricks
You have now the fundamentals for teaching your Old English Terrier 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 coordination with yours. She can also learn to salute by bringing one paw to the side of her head, or to keep a toy in her mouth, or to wear a cap on her head or wear other clothes.
In training a Old English Terrier to submit to being clothed, don't try to make her wear too many items at one time. Try her at first with just a cap. Once she becomes used to that you can put on a jacket and incrementally introduce her to the other clothes.
Take joy in "teaching your Old English Terrier the sit up trick" and most importantly have fun while you're doing it!
Don't forget to check out these other articles about Old English Terriers
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