Are you aiming to teach your Portuguese Podengo to sit? The technique of sitting up is regularly taught to compact dogs, though much larger dogs are a different story. It’s problematic for them to maintain their equilibrium.
Teach Your Portuguese Podengo to Sit: Readiness
Sitting up is one of the 1st skills that should be taught to a Portuguese Podengo and is the foundation for various other skills. To train a Portuguese Podengo to sit up, put together some treats as a perk, and place your Portuguese Podengo on her butt in the corner, so she can not fall either aft or sideways and has very little or no room to stumble.
Teach Your Portuguese Podengo to Sit: Acquaint Her With The Phrase
Protect her from tilting towards you by holding your hand under her chin and with your other hand hold her snack above her nose. Keep saying distinctly and deliberately, “sit.” Do not make her sit up too long at one time, but do repeat the lesson regularly and reward her frequently with loads of kudos and treats.
Teach Your Portuguese Podengo to Sit: Help Her Stay Balanced
Throughout the initial lesson your Portuguese Podengo will demand considerable assistance from you to keep her from falling forward, but as she gains more control of her balancing muscles and comprehends what you want her to do, she will rely less and less on your hand to hold her steady. Gradually, you can give her less support till you’ll simply have to keep one hand in position 2 or 3 inches from her chin or neck, to be set to prevent her from falling forward; eventually you might withdraw the hand completely and merely hold the snack right over the height of her head.
Teach Your Portuguese Podengo To Sit: Remove the Aids Incrementally
After regular training she will sit up for a good while after you get her to sit. The next step is she should be set against the wall, so as to offer her support for her back. When she has mastered this and can keep her place easily, practice with her up against chair legs, pillows or other things that provide her less and less help. Ultimately she will be able to maintain her balance and sit up without needing something to rest against.
Teach Your Portuguese Podengo to Sit: Putting It All Together
In the course of all these lessons the phrase "sit up" will have been ingrained upon her subconscious through frequent repetition. Last is the final lesson to teach your Portuguese Podengo to sit up as soon as she hears the command. Chances are, if she has been diligently trained, you will only have to get her out in the room, reveal to her a treat, hold it up a suitable distance from the ground, say "sit up or sit" and she will obey. Then you'll just give her the snack while still in position.
The only condition for perfection is to rehearse with her multiple times daily until she can sit when told and without being shown a snack; give her the snacks only after she has obeyed the command.
Teach Your Portuguese Podengo Other Tricks
You have now the basis for teaching your Portuguese Podengo many other skills. She now can be taught to beg by waving your hand up and down just in front of her paws, which she will move in coordination with yours. She can also be taught to salute by bringing one paw up 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 clothes.
In instructing a Portuguese Podengo to submit to being clothed, do not try to get her to wear too many garments at one time. Try at first with a cap. Once she becomes accustomed to that you can put on a coat and slowly introduce her to the other clothes.
Get a kick out of "teaching your Portuguese Podengo the sit up trick" and most importantly have fun while you're doing it!
Don't forget to check out these other articles about Portuguese Podengos
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