Untraining Sit?

Travis · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject: Untraining Sit?

In some of the reading I've been doing it says that a lot of people that train pointers won't teach their dog "sit" until they understand "whoa". They said to practice this with their food and treats, instead of having them sit/stay to have them stay standing and "whoa". I have always made my dogs sit/stay for their food and now when I try "whoa" their butts hit the floor and they sit/stay. How do I untrain this or should I?

DanniGirl · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject:

IMO, I would not re-train... I would just teach him the new command, whoa.
If you want to train "whoa" (before feeding) just put your hand under his stomach so he can't sit and command "whoa". -If he sits push his stomach up and say "whoa" again. In the yard, use a lead and say "whoa" and make him stand in place. Or if you have a training table, lead him up the table command "whoa" and make him stand still. He's smart and he'll catch on pretty quick.
Make it clear that "sit" and "whoa" are two different commands.
(I hope that's not too confusing...)

Travis · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:53 pm Post subject:

Not confusing at all. I keep reading more about "the board" or training table, or whatever you want to call it, didn't know if it was something i felt like i needed but the more I begin to understand it the more useful it sounds.

DanniGirl · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject:

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:10 am Post subject:

I teach sit first. Usually start on it at 7-8 weeks of age. I firmly believe basic obedience is the building blocks for field training. I don't teach whoa on a table, post or barrel. I teach it in the yard. It goes fairly quickly with just a CC.

Travis · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 3:14 pm Post subject:

DanniGirl · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject:

You can start with your pup right now. Like you said, you can whoa him before placing his food in front of him, etc...
Just make it a game and slowly build up the increased time he needs to stand still.
(By slowly, I mean weeks depending on the pup's temperament.)

Travis · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject:

DanniGirl · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:08 pm Post subject:

PamK · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject:

whats a CC and I thought whoa meant your going too fast stop.

Travis · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:32 pm Post subject:

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:39 am Post subject:

Travis · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:57 pm Post subject:

DanniGirl · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:43 am Post subject:

anne · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject:

The reason some don't teach sit is because dogs, when confused, will often revert back to the first thing they learned, or the thing they know best. Which is usually sit. You don't need to untrain it, but you might want to quit asking for sit for everything. I do teach my dogs sit and do it early but I also start teaching young pups the concept of whoa.

As for the many different methods... yes, there are a lot of them out there and you will find the ones that work best for you and each individual dog. It took me about 5 years and many mistakes before I figured out what methods I like to use.