Is your dog a sloppy sitter? A side sitter? A lazy sitter? Does your dog just immediately go into a down? Why does it matter? There are a lot of possible health-related reasons for your dog’s improper sitting form. Past injuries, possible weaknesses, chronic problems in joints or soft tissues of the hind limbs can result in compensatory changes and losing the ability to sit properly. Regardless, standing up from an improper or poor sitting position applies greater force to the knees and hocks, and doesn’t activate correct muscles and is therefore undesirable.
What is a proper sit?
The dog should:
sit squarely,
with hips, knees and hocks aligned nicely,
legs kept close to the body,
and positioned equally on both sides
What would be considered an improper sit?
with legs splayed wide, hocks spreading out to the sides
uneven left vs. right knee position (unbalanced weight distribution and ability to flex the knees)
paws pointing out from the body, twisting the knees
and is usually a sign of:
weak hind limb musculature, inability to keep legs nicely under the body
weak core
weaknesses in hip, knee or tarsal joints (pain, past injuries, arthritis)
If your dog exhibits an improper sit, here are three considerations:
Exclude physical limitations: Dogs with chronic unaddressed issues in the knee or hock joints often end up with reduced joint range of motion, and therefore lose the ability to fully flex these joints. Forcing the dog in correct sit if the dog is physically not able to (or ready yet), can quickly do more harm than good and requires professional help
The type of ground your dog is on: Sitting on slippery surfaces such as tiled or hardwood floors does not provide enough grip for your dog to keep the legs in proper position, let alone load the hind end to stand up. So make sure your dog is sitting on a surface that provides a good grip (grass, concrete, carpet/rug etc). If your dog does not have a known history of past injuries or joint diseases, and is sitting sloppily on non-slip flooring, a lack of strength might be the reason!
Your dog’s physical fitness: Obese or overweight dogs also lack the needed strength to sit correctly.
Want to improve your dog’s Sit position? Here are some easy exercises to try!
Practice on a narrow surface! Work with the dog on a narrow plank type object that is just wide enough to promote good position of limbs, but narrow enough to prevent turning the feet out. It also helps to improve body awareness skills, while helping strengthen the limb adductors – which are the muscles responsible for bringing/keeping the limbs closer to the body.
Practice with a smaller surface! Sitting on a surface just big enough for your dog to transfer from a stand to a sit is extremely helpful. We recommend a slightly raised platform or balance pad to start with and the surface itself usually promotes a better sitting position consistently which will work to strengthen and activate the correct muscle groups.
Variety is always beneficial! Varying the surfaces that you practice proper sits will help in creating stability and reliability in the proper form while working to proof that muscle memory. Additionally, working on unstable surfaces provide a new physical and mental challenge while strengthening your dog’s body stabilizers, their core, and muscles around joints, as well as help strengthen joint ligaments. Even if you don’t own anything yourself yet, something as simple as an air mattress or bosu ball will also do!
Don’t underestimate the challenge of a simple at-home workout with your dog using minimal equipment and practicing the proper form of the various obedience positions that your dog knows. It is a great way to continue proofing those positions and giving your dog a fun and different kind of physical and mental workout.
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