Cocoa sat on Friday! Not for long, maybe 20 seconds total, but I thought we were light years away from that. She sat again yesterday, again, not for long but I am so happy to see her trying.

Since Cocoa is a brand new dog to me, figuring out training and tripawding has been a challenge. I must confess it has been a very stressful couple of weeks for me.

Gigi is trained to sit for her treats. I don't want to undo that by having another dog that does not. I'm glad to know it is eomthing we can work on this future.

I want to say again, this is an amazing forum. It has been a tremendous help during "our" learning period.

P.S. I'm going to add some pictures of Gigi to my Cocoa album (linked below).

Susan

Hi Susan,

It is really important to be sure Cocoa learns basic commands & manners well. Be sure to carefully monitor the lengths of her training sessions. It may not be as easy for he to perform repetitive motions, especially on her back end. We ask a lot of their remaining back leg. She is a young dog and has a lot of years to rely on that leg, be sure to protect it now. You might consider teaching her a stand stay in exchange for whatever resource (treats, door opening, etc) she desires, and reserve the sit for special circumstances( you can use it as a trick) or when she wants to offer that behavior. If you are consistent, Gigi will not generalize & follow Cocoa's lead. She will know that for her, resources come when she sits. You won't undo her training.

As Cocoa gets older, it is less likely for sitting to be comfortable, but if it's what she always did, she will try to continue. If there is one thing I would change in Isabelle's previous training, sitting for everything would be it.

Something else I have found invaluable is a reliable WAIT command. This is completely separate from a STAY. A stay requires some other action, sit, down, stand, first & then maintaining that position. Wait means stop whatever you're doing, immediately. Fortunately, I had taught this long ago. It has been very useful since Isabelle's amputation. If she's excited & wants to fly down thew stairs, or there's an icy spot, etc., I can intervene with just a command. It does not happen overnight, but well worth the effort. It's a nice behavior for a young dog to master anyway.

Everyone is overwhelmed at this point. You've given a dog you didn't even know a new life, not many people would have taken that on. You are doing great. You're very proactive, that will make things so much easier in the future.

Cynthia