Some dogs simply don't, or won't learn how to beg or "sit pretty" on
their haunches. The best way to figure out whether to skip teaching
this trick is to have your dog sit, grab both paws and lift them up. If
the dog's hind end stays seated instead of jumping up for even a few
seconds, your dog can probably learn to beg fairly easily. Trainers
agree that a motivated dog can learn to beg even if it is uncomfortable
for them, but it may take much more time and effort.
The conventional method for training this trick is holding a piece of
food above the dog's head as he is sitting. If this doesn't work, or
she keeps jumping up, try this method:
Alternative
Method
Forget the "beg". Teach your dog to shake (already know it? great),
then teach him "other paw". (It's almost as easy as teaching shake
originally) Randomly have your "dog sit", "shake", "other paw" when you
get treats out.
At some point, when the dog has this routine drilled into him, sit him
down and say "beg". He will get excited and in frustration he will
eventually lift one paw and then lift the "other paw" before putting
the first down. If you are clicker training, this is the moment to
click. If you are training with traditional methods, the brief moment
that both paws are off the ground treat and praise, praise, praise
saying "good beg, good beg".
When your dog realizes that the movement of having both paws off the
ground is what you are asking for, he'll begin to lift both paws at the
command "beg". This is the rough beginning of a finished "beg". To
polish the trick, just withhold the treat until the dog stays up a bit
longer than the last time. Most dogs will need to learn to stay up
slowly- it's not an easy trick, physically, for most dogs- especially
large ones. They will need to develop muscles not usually used and
improve their balance. Once your dog knows beg means to stay seated, tt
may help to push the treat back farther over the head to help the dog
understand you want it to go up all the way. With practice, your dog
should be able to hold this pose for anywhere from several seconds to
minutes.
