August 22, 2023
Today, we started working on the sit up trick. I did 8 very short session, starting with 4 refreshers of the 2-paws-on-a-plate behavior and then experimenting with how to best position myself and the plate to provide a sit-up target for Chai. Since I’m too tired to edit all 8 videos, I’ll show you one of our recap videos and a small sit-up compilation. The last one is the one I’m submitting to Silvia Trkman1 for feedback – this is one of the tricks on their list!
Recap: 2 front paws on a plate
Sit up compilation
I like how Chai is did and I believe I’ve found a good angle for her to put up her paws by the end of this compilation. In the last rep, she was great. I, on the other side, forgot to mark. It happens! It doesn’t matter. We are having fun!
August 23, 2023
It’s our second day working on the sit-up behavior! We had five short sessions over the course of the morning. Below a compilation of the last ones with my thoughts in the subtitles!
August 28, 2023
Sessions 1 & 2
I waited for Sylvia’s feedback about what position in my video was the best before progressing to session 3. It’s at 01:55 in the video below! A 90° angle to the floor. I need to feed a little back and up to prevent Chai from leaning.
Sessions 3-5
It’s hard for me to see whether Chai’s back is straight (that elusive 90° angle I can only make out when reviewing videos). The mirror doesn’t help (I need to find a better position for it). Maybe a back rest will make a difference?
Silvia’s feedback on my couch session:
“Last try was really good, but seems that this was harder because of the soft surface under her, so I would go back to what you did in the previous video. You should be able to feel how much weight she is putting on a plate to know how good her position is.“
I’m curious about Silvia’s feedback regarding Chai’s wandering butt!
August 30, 2023
Silvia’s feedback:
“You can set her so there is a wall behind her to prevent shuffling. […] It’s also about strength […], so maybe she is leaning so much because she has to – and shuffling because it’s too hard. So do let her lean a lot if she needs to, avoid too many repetitions […] and just give her the time she needs to build the strength needed.”
So today, we had a single session in the morning with the wall behind Chai’s back. I might have one more – equally short – tonight. In any case, going forwards, I’ll do two short 1-rep sessions/day at the most with this trick.
August 31, 2023
Another sit-up with a wall behind Chai’s back!
This time, Chai was so close to the wall that she was leaning against it. I paid attention to my mechanics and stuck to the session profile I decided on. I’m happy with this session!
Silvia’s feedback:
“I would do a couple of sessions more like this and then fade the wall when you feel it’s getting really easy for her.“
So that’s the plan! I did another session the next day – September 1 – but won’t add the video since it doesn’t show much new.
September 4, 2023
I videoed again and asked Silvia whether what I’m seeing in the clip below is what they are referring to as an “ugly sit”:
Silvia explained in their response that a good sit up requires the lower back legs of the dog to face straight forward. Chai usually doesn’t do that but has them angled to both sides (that is indeed what Silvia calls an “ugly sit.” Here is Silvia’s latest feedback on my last video (which I didn’t share on the blog because I didn’t have time):
“Yes, this was definitely ugly sit all along. I think she has learned she can use the wall [we’ve used the wall as a back support] best if sitting that way, so I would rather move away from the wall – it’s better if she leans forward as sitting like this. You can get a straight sit by having her sit on a narrow block. You can also use very low front feet support at first – that will of course put lots of weight on front feet, but as I said, that’s still better as an ugly sit. To see it in real time, look at her feet and make sure her feet are parallel and directly under her.”
September 6, 2023
I’m not a fan of the word ugly, but I like the idea of using a sit platform the narrowness of which requires Chai to keep her lower legs parallel and facing straight ahead. I just have to find something I can use as a platform. I haven’t yet, so today’s video is simply one that doesn’t use the wall for support. In this video, I am paying attention to Chai’s back leg position when sitting and before the sit up. And I notice that she seems to generally sit with her legs angled sideways (which then just stay that way when she sits up). I’m curious what Silvia has to say!
Silvia’s feedback on my September 6 video:
“You were seeing it correctly and on those two tries the sit was definitely good enough to ask for the sit up. Her form was much better here as in the last two videos, so I would continue like this until you get a narrow block for her to sit on. Her sit could indeed still be better, but somewhat east-west like here is still acceptable. When her weight is on her butt and her paws are not weighted at all, then it gets bad though – but you didn’t get any of these here, so that’s good!“
Silvia also confirmed that the reason we want straight back legs is fitness-related: certain muscles will only be trained if the dog sits in this way (sitting up that way is harder than sitting with the legs to the side or on their butt. I appreciate the little gems of physiotherapy and fitness I’ve been picking up in Silvia’s class!)
September 8, 2023
My comment to go along with this video: “I can’t tell if Chai is sitting on her butt or not! Is she, and if so/if not: how can you tell?”
Silvia’s response:
“Looks good! To see the difference, compare this to the videos where I said she is sitting on her butt and try to see the difference.“
I need to make time to train my eyes!
I also realized that I can use one of my little crates as a sit platform for this exercise and shaped a sit on the crate in a separate session today:
Silvia’s feedback:
September 11, 2023: another sit-up on the floor session, no wall
My sit-on-the-crate behavior isn’t yet ready to be integrated into the sit up trick … too much hiking and fun with dog friends has been getting in the way! Instead, I took another stab at sitting up on the floor, no wall. I feel like Chai’s legs are less sideways than they used to be – but I’m not sure whether this is actually happening or just wishful thinking on my part! Question for Silvia along with the video below that I just submitted: Do you see us making progress with this trick or are we plateauing?
Notes for the next session:
+ Wait for Silvia’s feedback.
+ Independently of that, shape the sit on the crate even when I’m kneeling right in front of the crate! She can do it when I stand but hasn’t generalized it to me being on the floor.
September 12, 2023: more sit-ups on the floor
Silvia’s feedback on yesterday’s video:
“Looks good! Definitely making progress yes, so you can continue like this with the sit up. I would still do sit on a box as well and soon also some sit up to stand up, but with support under her front feet (like a box at first and a chair later on) of course.”
I’ll have to re-read Silvia’s lessons and/or re-watch the Silvia’s puppy diary video to see how they go from sit up to stand up. I thought the next step would be sitting up freely – without the plate as support. I’ll investigate!
In any case, as for today, I’m having a session like yesterday (on the floor) and will allow myself the luxury of not videoing (I am SO tired of editing more than I train!)
I have trained free duration stand ups, but I haven’t trained a sit pretty before (I just always thought standing on the back legs was cooler). It’s wild to realize that sit pretty is in fact more difficult – at least for Chai as a learner and for me as a trainer!
- This class just started again and you can still sign up for it. If you’re into tricks and/or have a puppy – check it out! I want to give a shout-out to Silvia for being such a kind human being and a generous trainer. The world needs more people like them! ↩︎