"SIT" & "WHOA"

[gspkimber]

So this last week I have noticed my 7 month old GSP is SITTING when I tell her "WHOA". I started to notice it when I was introducing her to honoring the point. She will want to sit when she is honoring. The only other time I have noticed it is when I am doing yard training with WHOA. She will stay in the proper WHOA position and hold on point when she finds a bird though. I am correcting it by starting to lift her hind legs and place her into the correct WHOA position. I will be going back to the basics and start the WHOA over.

I have a few questions that I was thinking about.

1.) Do you teach a bird dog to "SIT"?

2.) Is going back to the basics the right thing to do?

I am looking forward to all of your opinions. Thanks for all of the input.

[smilinicon]

Hello,

I'll post only because of your last sentence... Where I live, my dog hunts mabye 2-5% while being my pet and family member the other 95+%. Sit was the third command she learned and the first when in OB training. Looking forward to the expert's answers, but I am thinking another command word could be used while going back to basics.

[Sharon]

Unwise to teach sit. My dogs live in the house. I teach "stay" which means 'stay right there on 4 legs". Just as useful in the house as "sit". When a dog starts sitting in the field on a 'whoa" command it is often a sign that the dog is feeling too much pressure/confusion and reverts to sitting because it knows performing that command has always pleased. Just a thought.

[EddieF]

I'm no expert. But when we got Winnie we already had a dog in the house, a Jack Russell, and he had a set of commands already. It never occurred to me to not teach sit. Just helped me in the house to be able to put the dogs in 'park' for general manners, and Gromit had already learned sit.

Anyway, Winnie doesn't confuse whoa with sit. I taught her stand/stay because she did some conformation showing early on, so I just developed that to be able to do it from a walk or run, and I changed the name of it to whoa. So, not the way most people will get to it, I know, but I have not had any problem. Sit and whoa are just two different commands.

[slistoe]

Just like proper gunshy introduction, there are some dogs for which it is a problem and some not. Unfortunately the only way to know if you have a dog for which it will be a problem is to do it wrong. Hence the reason why many folks recommend to not teach sit. But, I always say, if you need the action.... teach the command and worry about the extra training if you need it later.

Well, it seems that later has come for you and you will need the extra training. Back to the basics on whoa then mix it up with some training that will have the dog differentiating between the two and will perform each one properly in the face of distraction and pressure.

[birddogger]

Lots of dogs can be taught to sit and not have problems with other commands later on. However, if you teach this, you are asking for problems when you begin whoa and other training. Sometimes, when a dog is pressured or confused, he will go to the command he knows.

If you want your dog to sit, it needs to be the last command they are taught IMO. If you do a search on here, there are other threads addressing this issue.

Charlie

[birddogger]

slistoe beat me to the punch as I was typing my reply, and he said it very well.

Charlie

[gspkimber]

I really appreciate it!

[snips]

I would quit doing ANY sit and let that pup grow up before doing any more training around birds.

[BDBUzi]

I would quit doing ANY sit and let that pup grow up before doing any more training around birds.

My thoughts exactly.

7 months is still really young (IMO). The "basics"/foundation are still being laid at this point, not something you should be "going back to". For me, backing is introduced, but not taught or enforced until they have a season or two under their belt. That way the get their own foundation/manners established before being asked or required to back another dog on point.

Just my opinion...

[gonehuntin']

Lots of dogs can be taught to sit and not have problems with other commands later on. However, if you teach this, you are asking for problems when you begin whoa and other training. Sometimes, when a dog is pressured or confused, he will go to the command he knows.

If you want your dog to sit, it needs to be the last command they are taught IMO. If you do a search on here, there are other threads addressing this issue.

Charlie

+1. Now that's good advice. All of my bird dogs sit as well as down. It's the sequence they're taught the command in.

[birddog1968]

I would quit doing ANY sit and let that pup grow up before doing any more training around birds.

My thoughts exactly.

7 months is still really young (IMO). The "basics"/foundation are still being laid at this point, not something you should be "going back to". For me, backing is introduced, but not taught or enforced until they have a season or two under their belt. That way the get their own foundation/manners established before being asked or required to back another dog on point.

Just my opinion...

+2

I dont teach sit, I use a hiss for my lab and no sit for my pointers. Go easy on the control stuff, and heavy on the bird exposure. my cent and a half.