Category: Performance Events ¤
  Author: Jona Decker ¤
   Title: Tuck Sit, Fold Back Down, Kick Back Stand ¤

Ron explained the positions pretty well...I'd like to add a couple of
comments to the "why" and "how" of both.

First, the sit...In my experience, if you teach the sit with a lure, you
tend to get a nice fast, tuck sit.  Waiting for it to happen, particularly
if you're training a puppy, is more likely to get a "slouchy" sit.  Dildei
recommends doing lots of sits from the down (handler in front) to teach
the dog how to tuck his rear in if he's learned bad habits--I think this
does help--but each dog is unique is where the handler needs to stand to
most effectively get that tuck, for example:  a large GSD (28") laying
like a sphinx, handler right in fron, is more likely to just prop his
front up to go into a sit--another bad posture.  So standing just a little
farther should make a dog that knows "front" position take a tiny step
with the front feet, and that motion will make tucking the rear easier.
OTOH, a dog that curls his front demurely may need the handler to stand
very close in front, so that he can *only* take a tiny little forward step
with the front feet, rather than stretching those legs out and popping
into a slouch sit.  And from the front position, you can continue to back
up and ask for more tucked sits--reinforcing the quick, tight ones and
ignoring the sloppy ones.  The frustration of not getting clicked will
usually speed up the sit, as well.

Why does it matter?  Well, a dog that rocks back into a sit may end up  a
little behind heel position when you stop--so the dog is *in* heel
position when he stops, but his shoulder ends up *behind* your leg after
he sits--so you get scored for a bad sit.  It is also a slower way to get
into position, so you may be faulted for that.  In the FR position change
exercise, the dog's front feet should be absolutely stationary while they
go through 6 sit-stand-down positions in random order--so a dog that
doesn't do a tuck-sit, kickback stand, foldback down, is at a
disadvantage.  I personally teach a "coucher" (coo-shay) for a foldback
down, and "platz" (plotz) for what I call a comfort down--a down at my
side, usually for a stay.

The down?  Well, between the few of us at our local training club who
*bother* with the foldback down, we've settled onto two basic methods of
luring the foldback down.  Those who use their hands (I don't) tend to
follow this procedure:

*dog stands in front of handler
*lure nose (with a treat in left hand) to a spot between front paws
*use flat right hand (signal hand) and slip thumb under flat collar on
 side of neck (or index finger between shoulder blades) to help rock the
 dog back into a down
*reinforce as soon as the rear is committed to going into a down (not just
 a play bow)

I leave out the use of the hand to push the dog--just use the lure and
start the signal when the dog is starting to figure it out and anticipate
by planting front feet and starting the "bow."

Why teach the foldback down?  Besides the position change exercise, in
upper levels of obedience, the judge may start taking points off for
forward motion during the drop on recall.  By doing the foldback, you
virtually eliminate forward movement on the drop.  Again, this is a picky
thing--it just seems worthwhile to teach it in the "ideal" way from the
beginning, than trying to polish it later.

You didn't mention the kickback stand, which is a similar exercise--plant
front feet, kick rear into the stand, instead of creeping into the stand. 
Here's something I really love to see--doesn't matter whether you're in
AKC obedience, Schutzhund, or Ring--a truly stationary stand is a thing of
beauty.  Whatever the arena, you'll want it sooner or later--you can skate
in AKC obedience and schutzhund until you get to the moving stand, where
it becomes important--if you've ever seen a dog do a kickback stand in a
schutzhund 3 routine (at a dead run) you know what I mean about a clear
edge in the scoring over dogs that walk into a stand.  Most of the people
I know who teach this use a lure dropped very quicly from nose to sternum
of dog--the dog's head moving down tightly to the chest usually causes the
dog to raise his rear and stand.  With puppies, Marion Erp taught me to
use a food dish with the puppy in a sit or down, and slide it rapidly to
the chest, and sure enough, it works great!  I've always considered the
stand from another position the most challenging to teach, but this method
really works for me.

Jona

Jona Decker                                   (work) deckerj@gnofn.org
http://www.gnofn.org/~malinut                  (fun) malinut@gnofn.org