Are you attempting to teach your Boerboel to sit? The technique of sitting up is quickly taught to little dogs, yet larger pet dogs are a different story. It’s problematic for them to maintain their balance.
Teach Your Boerboel to Sit: Prep work
Sitting up is one of the 1st skills that should be taught to a Boerboel and forms the groundwork for lots of other tricks. To train a Boerboel to sit up, prep some snacks as a perk, and place the Boerboel on her butt in the corner, to make sure that she won’t be able to fall either aft or sideways and has very little or no space to lose balance.
Teach Your Boerboel to Sit: Familiarize Her With The Phrase
Keep her from pitching towards you by securing your hand under her chin and using the other hand dangle her reward above your Boerboel’s face. Keep saying deliberately and clearly, “sit.” Do not make her sit up for too long at any one time, but do repeat the instruction regularly and reward her often with lots of praise and snacks.
Teach Your Boerboel to Sit: Help Her Stay Balanced
During her initial lesson she will demand significant support from you to stop her from pitching forward, but as she gets better control of her muscles and sees what you want, she’ll rely less and less on your hand to keep her in position. Then you can gradually give her less help and support up until you’ll only have to keep one hand in position two or three inches from her neck or chin, to be in place to stop her falling forward; eventually you can remove this hand altogether and merely dangle the treat just above the height of your Boerboel’s face.
Teach Your Boerboel To Sit: Remove the Aids Over Time
With frequent training your Boerboel will stay seated for a long time after you command her. Afterward she should be set up against a wall, so as to provide her a support for her back. After she has picked up this and can maintain her position easily, rehearse with her using chair legs, cushions or other objects that give her less and less aid. Gradually she will master how to preserve her equilibrium and sit up in the absence of something to rest against.
Teach Your Boerboel to Sit: Putting It All Together
During all this training the command "sit up" will have been instilled upon her subconscious through frequent repetition. Lastly is the final lesson to teach your Boerboel to sit up immediately after she hears the command. Chances are, if she has been carefully trained, you will only have to summon her out into the room, show to her a reward, hold it up a reasonable distance from the floor, say "sit up or sit" and she will do so. Then you'll give her the snack while still in position.
The only requirement for perfection is to practice with your Boerboel multiple times a day until she sits when told and without being shown a reward; give her the treats only after she has adhered to the command.
Teach Your Boerboel Other Tricks
You have now the fundamentals for teaching your Boerboel many other skills. She can now be taught how to beg by moving your hand up and down just in front of her paws, which she will move in rhythm with yours. She also can learn 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 teaching a Boerboel to accept being dressed up, do not try to make her wear too many clothes at one time. Try at first with just a hat. Only after she gets accustomed to that you can put on a coat and eventually introduce her to more clothes.
Take pleasure in "teaching your Boerboel the sit up trick" and most importantly have fun at the same time!
Don't forget to check out these other articles about Boerboels
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