Hello everyone,

So I've been working with Kenai since we got him on down. I have no idea why, but it just isn't sticking with him. I've done it from a sit and lowered a treat down to the floor and slid it out. He will do it then immediately release.

He won't do it on command. He's a smart dog but of course he's equally as stubborn. Our last dogs caught on real quick, but Kenai is a different beast haha.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks.

Well if he is physically doing it and knows  what it  means but isn't staying,  it could be three things.

Your offered reward isn't convincing enough.

Your correction for breaking position isn't strong enough.  

Somehow,  you are releasing him too soon.  

Are you holding your command with proper body language and energy? Remaining calm and not triggering his excitement?  

Does he have a release command?   He should, and if he does,  you need to reinforce the seriousness of commands and up your game on corrections that give him some accountability.  

The best way to train positions is on leash and then for breaking position the order is

Command.  Dog makes the right choice.   Reward.    Dog breaks without release.    Correction immediately with "no"/disagreement.  Physical pressure on.  Leash guidance back into position.

Release command is way more important than the initial position command. That's where accountability comes in.

I guess it could be that he doesn't know the command?  When I get him from a sit to down using a treat he will sTay for a sec.  I say good boy and give him the treat.  That happens 1 out of 25 attempts.  He usually will pop right up before I can give him the treat or good boy.

I've beem working on this since we got him about 7 months ago.  Maybe I'll switch up the treats and see if cheese motivates him a little more. Its the same way we learned with our other dogs.

I'll try it on leash and see if that helps.

Just wait longer to reward him. No halfa*s downs or antsy downs. Wait for his mind to be down, not just his body.

Once you teach him a release command you can then imply Stay with any command, that's the beauty of Release.

You can practice Release command at doorways, at the create, at crosswalks, on leash, anywhere really where an impulse is going to take his focus off of you and onto whatever else there is.

Is he impulsive? I realize that is kind of a rhetorical question with a young Husky.

I think waiting longer to reward the position, doing meaningful corrections, and teaching a Release command is the key here.