what treats do you use and how long before training does she get her meal?

have you taught eye contact?

have you taught the sit under all contexts including distractions and your dog's different emotional states?

the surprise would be if at 4 months you dog had learnt a solid sit everytime at the doorway

I know where you're coming from, pain can make us a bit short tempered to say the least, but one thing you have to remember here is, your puppy is still a baby, 16 weeks old, that's not long enough for her to get it right everytime, she's not a robot, so give him a bit of slack until he's older sometimes hey? I had to with mine, and now that she's 18 months old, she's still a good girl, even though I let her off loads of time when she was only 4 months old. It's a lot for them to take in when the big wide world is there to explore, so you really have to give and take, afterall, you're not putting her into obedience in 6 month's time are you, you just want a well behaved dog at the end of the day, and she'll get there I'm sure. Good luck with that back too, and perhaps you are doing the right thing by putting her in her crate so you can take a deep breath, so do whatever you feel is best, and good luck with it.

Thank you - I hope my back gets better too. I have to keep reminding myself about her age as well. You are right - at the end of the day I want a well behaved family dog and I hope to have that by the time she is 18months old.

I am teaching 'watch me' - but we aren't there yet. I think this is the problem with the sit I haven''t taught it in ALL contexts - so will do so.

She is fed at breakfast, lunch and dinner but is a very poor eater and grazes through out the day. I'd like to be more strict and take it up after 10 mins but I worry that she won't eat enough to grow - should I? Treats are varied - hotdog sausage, liver cake, cheese, coachies, etc. I try to ring the changes as she is very UNMOTIVATED by food so want to keep it different. The hotdog and liver cake go down well.

Heya Spid,

Just a reply on the whole aspect of the pup being unmotivated by food. This is probably due to the dog not fully understanding the value of food if it is freely available 24/7.

I would try for a couple of days picking up the bowl after 10-15 minutes or so, this will boost what appears to be her appetite (if she knows that it doesn't hang around) and it should also teach her that food is not always going to be available.

Why would your dog do something for a reward that it can have by just going to the bowl whenever it wants?

My neighbours' Poodle is expected to be shown and I've been put in charge of training him. He's grown up with a food bowl always full and always available and he wasn't the slightest bit interested in me treating him when being trained. So I got the owners to not leave his bowl out and after a few days, the dog seemed to grow an appetite. He just really learned the higher value of food all of a sudden.

As for the training of the sit command, I think everyone has already said what the best approach would be, going back to basics with the rewarding after every correct sit posture. It may also be a good idea to mix up the treats so that it doesn't get too humdrum for her. Cheese is a smelly alternative that will get dogs really interested in earning it. One of my favourite ones is to boil hotdogs and then cut them up into tiny cubes.

I agree that a few steps back is in order here. She's very young to be getting everything just right.

Good luck -sounds like you are doing a champion job with her already

How's it going?? Hope your back is better too.

I was just wondering for how long you actually make her sit for when you ask for it before you open that door? I'm only saying this, because I remember when I was at training class with mine at 16 weeeks old, I got really told off once, after a sit, because I had made her sit for too long, be it all of about 5 seconds! Lol! The trainer told me, that the sit itself is good enough and I had to quickly reward her and then release her instantly, because it was far too much for a young puppy of 16 weeks to take in, to be made to sit for more than a couple of seconds at that age, so maybe that will help you? I hope so, and good luck.