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**Selzer** Sitting On The Dog

11K views 43 replies 25 participants last post by  Kestrel 
#1 ·
Being the other thread is now closed, and I read your reply. I will have to continue here.

"Sitting on the dog" I found on this site. I couldn't find the thread but it also contained a video. The thread it was in was not specific to this topic.

Basically have a chair, have the dog on a leash or lead. Sit on the lead in the chair and let the dog have about a foot of lead. You ignore the dog like they are not there. The video said to start with a minimum of 30 minutes. You do this daily. The dog, if they are hyperactive or just won't settle down when you want to relax, this is suppose to give them the idea that when you sit down, it's relax or rest time.

It may sound kind of crazy, but it seems to work.
 
#2 ·
It doesn't sound crazy and I can see it working. I will need to use this method for a dog I am taking in next week or I will go insane.
 
#7 · (Edited)
When you have six dogs in the house and 4 are under the age of three it isn't so crazy:)

My troublemaker is the one with the blue eyes , he is a greyhound/husky that can't sit still.

 
#10 ·
you can do short downs of up to 2-5 min with puppy
i would say 8-10 weeks on
increase the time up to 30 min
dont make the dog frustrated but let it get a little frustrated then when it calms wait a few more minutes and let it go
i mean with a puppy wait up to 15-30 seconds
do not expect too much too soon but a 4-6 mo old dog should be able to go 10-20 min anyway
if you do this randomly a few times a week it will help the dog learn to settle itself
 
#11 ·
Thank you. I'll have to start working on this. Zoe is 13 weeks. She will settle at times during the day when I'm up and doing stuff. She will sleep while I clean or am up and about in the house. I am home all day with her and take her with me to run quick errands and other than the usual puppy stuff she's ok. ANY TIME I try to sit on the couch in the living room she goes nuts biting, barking and trying to get me up. I do exercise her often and spend pretty much the entire day with her. I'm torn between trying to "be the boss" and wanting to spend time with her. I would love if she could be content with a short break by my feet. Somehow I always end up on the floor with her in my lap trying to remove my fingers.

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#14 ·
moving this to training
 
#16 ·
I know trainers who have done it for years. 'Sit On The Dog' is taught in their beginner obedience classes. I did it with some of my dogs before I even knew it had a name.
 
#20 ·
LOL I love it when an old concept has a bizarre new name. Makes me think of this foolish education concept called a rubric. You can't just all it a list.

You're not actually sitting ON the dog. The dog is sitting with you. It's called Tethering and if I'm not mistaken, it's so old school it's in the monks of new skete books by that name.
 
#23 ·
Lol I kept Ruger tethered to me until he learned to go potty outside, or my husband came home and he took him off the leash, probably why potty training took a bit longer. I think it just strengthened our bond and trained him to follow me throughout the house... sometimes annoying but also comforting to know my buddy is right there with me. But he sits/downs when I sit, at home, when we're off some where it's a different story.
 
#27 ·
This is very effective. I have used it for years and taught in all my classes. I also stand on my dog. Stand on the leash while talking to someone. Dog will eventually calm and down.
 
#32 ·
When I was training Arwen, and that was a lifetime ago, the trainer wanted me to have her down for 30 minutes. And I was just to sit there and keep her in a down.

The first day, she did it without any problem at all. So I was surprised when the second day, she broke the stay. I over-reacted, and we had a pretty miserable half hour. The next day, I went and got the lead, and she went and hid in the bedroom. Then I had a Come to Jesus moment with myself, and through out everything I thought I knew about dog training, and based my approach on the fact that the dog wants to do what I want her to do. If she isn't doing it, I am not communicating what I want properly. My fault. And I started training totally differently.

We never again did that 30 minute down stay. This bitch took first place on her three tries in the obedience ring, which means she never broke a stay in the ring. She did a CGC without any preparation or classes at a show. Her first attempt at supervised separation, was when I put her in a down stay, handed her leash to some guy and went and hid behind a car at the show during the test. She never moved a muscle.

But not because we did that 30 minute thing, because I totally threw that out. I guess it may work for some dogs, for her it was totally counter-productive, though probably due to my own clumsy attempt and doing it.
 
#33 ·
When I was training Arwen, and that was a lifetime ago, the trainer wanted me to have her down for 30 minutes. And I was just to sit there and keep her in a down.

The first day, she did it without any problem at all. So I was surprised when the second day, she broke the stay. I over-reacted, and we had a pretty miserable half hour. The next day, I went and got the lead, and she went and hid in the bedroom. Then I had a Come to Jesus moment with myself, and through out everything I thought I knew about dog training, and based my approach on the fact that the dog wants to do what I want her to do. If she isn't doing it, I am not communicating what I want properly. My fault. And I started training totally differently.

We never again did that 30 minute down stay. This bitch took first place on her three tries in the obedience ring, which means she never broke a stay in the ring. She did a CGC without any preparation or classes at a show. Her first attempt at supervised separation, was when I put her in a down stay, handed her leash to some guy and went and hid behind a car at the show during the test. She never moved a muscle.

But not because we did that 30 minute thing, because I totally threw that out. I guess it may work for some dogs, for her it was totally counter-productive, though probably due to my own clumsy attempt and doing it.
Oh I think your 100% on the money with your view point. I'm learning, through Cruz, that no matter what dog you have, you have to take different approaches in training. Some dogs respond well to just your approval, others take treating or a ball for a reward and your personal approval just won't cut it with them. That's where the novice trainers are weeded out from the decent to good trainers. The novice.....me, are perplexed or hit walls when what you used on another dog fails to work with your current dog. A good trainer with experience knows the next step to take or can rattle through a number of techniques until they come across one that gets through to the dog.

I think in the end, a lot of training gets lost or stalled because of a break down in communication between handler and dog. Once that one vital bridge is severed or is incomplete, your in a situation like I am with Cruz. They start just doing whatever whenever they want and over time just stop listening or flat out ignore the handler until that gap is once again re-established.

I tried the for-mentioned with Cruz, and it seemed to work. I think the theory is sound, and it's worth trying if nothing else is working. But it's not the be all end all either. As in your case, what you mentioned or the way I take it is you put your dog into a down/stay and held them there. This other technique is used with a lead and you sit on the lead and you just act like the dog is not there. You don't talk to the dog or command the dog. You just give them a foot of lead and sit on the leash. The theory is that over time, the dog associates your setting down with them laying down. There is no commands involved. Well, there is, but it's not verbal, it's a command through your action.
 
#35 ·
I've been trying this a few times a week with Fawn for 10 - 15 minutes. She seems to do fine with it but then again she's fine to lay around as long as I'm there with her so it's not surprising. We'll see how 30 minutes and beyond goes.

I don't cinch the tether so tight, I don't think the upward pressure on her neck for 10 minutes is necessary but I may eat my words later for not doing this exercise correctly.
 
#36 ·
This is something we do just as a part of life. I didn't know it was a technique.

In the evenings I sit on the front porch with the dogs on their leashes. Now when the GSD sees me sit in the rocker, he automatically lays down because he knows he's not going anywhere.

Inside is similar. When he sees me sit on the couch, he will get on his cot usually. Instead of a leash, I used the "Place" command here. Occasional he'll try to entice me with a toy.

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#37 ·
LOL, I have been doing this with Beau just to keep my sanity. Didn't know it was a method. If he is not in his place or on a down stay he is into something or another.
 
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