Why does my dog sit reliably at home when I ask, but nowhere else?

Generally speaking, its probably because the learning hasn't been expanded to include anywhere but a few specific locations, with a few specific caveats your dog has learned.

There is a theory that if a companion animal isn't complying, he or she simply hasn't understood, or isn't able to comply. This simplifies a complex relationship somewhat, but I quite like the theory - it's mostly true.

Things that prevent a dog from sitting when asked:

• The request is out of context for that dog. If you have taught your dog to sit in the kitchen when he is looking up at you by the sink, and you're holding a piece of chicken and looking down across your left shoulder at him, slightly oriented away from him, those are all of the things he will recognise as cues to sit. Generally if he knows you like it when he sits, you could probably say anything in the above scenario and he'd sit in the hope that he'd get chicken.

• How do we take 'sit' out into the world and have him understand it? You'll need to move around a lot from your initial spot in the kitchen. As you expand the places he'll reliably sit, you'll find he sometimes doesn't, in that instance, back track a few stages and get closer to the spot where he will reliably sit, because we know he understands us. If he's feeling confused, stop for the day and go again later or tomorrow. Always start at the position he completely understands, back in the kitchen, when he's looking up at you by the sink.

  
  

• You'll also need to add distractions and make sure you can keep his attention. If you can't, 'Attention' needs to be taught before 'Sit'. Usually we do this by saying our dogs name. Eg When we say Harry?!, Harry should stop what he's doing and look over at us, giving us our window of opportunity to communicate further. If he doesn't, we need to make sure we have that first, reliably. Just say his name and toss him chicken - that works very well - although you'll have a very sticky dog, stuck to your leg for a while, watching intently for you to say his name.

  
  

• He or she isn't able to comply. If you teach your dog to sit at home and then do no further teaching, but take him to central London from the quiet rural home you share, stand in Piccadilly Circus on a sunny Saturday morning and start yelling SIT at him - there's no way on earth he can do it. He probably can't hear you and is probably far too busy bricking it to death.

  
  

• The added complication of distractions. Distraction works both ways - for both you and the dog. If you have a friend chatting in your ear whilst you're trying to communicate with your dog, your attention is split and your focus will be wavery and you'll miss crucial things your dog does. If this is the case, you need to be much less critical of both of your performances as trainer and student. Same goes for your dog - if another dog is around, sniffing his bottom and wagging in his face, he'll have a hard time concentrating.

  
  

• Pain may prevent learning or physically prevent an animal from doing something. Never underestimate the potential for pain to affect training. Odds are most dogs don't carry pathological pain, but even a thorn in the pad will prevent much learning. If your dog is safe to touch all over, you can gently manipulate parts to test for pain - common sites are along the ear canals, at the base of the ear, paws, hips, leg joints generally, soft belly bits. If there are any spots that make your dog squeak, they're definitely worth investigating.

  
  

• Excitement! If your dog is leaping about like a lamb in the spring sunshine, he won't be able to listen, or hear you, or know who you are, or what he is, or anything beyond sheer delight. The key to that is to never try to train or teach anything when the student cannot learn. Take him for a fifteen mile jog and then ask him to sit juuuuuust before he sits naturally. The tell him he's a genius.

The key to clever training that the animal learns super fast, is to know exactly what they can and cannot do at any give time, then to create opportunities that enhance the likelihood that the animal will do something like the thing you want to teach.

• There is however, an alternative. It's called capturing. You monitor your animal closely and reward him or her anytime he freely offers the behaviour you're looking for. This is the fastest way to train simple behaviours if you're good at monitoring. It's incredibly powerful for your dog because he thinks he's training you and becomes thoughtful and watchful of you. It's very easy for you, because all you need is a bunch of treats and the ability to hang out with your dog - it's very unstressful.

• Hang out with your dog. Have a bunch of treats. Just watch. Say nothing, ask nothing, just watch. If he looks at you questioningly, say nothing, just smile. Odds are, he'll probably sit. If so, give him a treat. Simples! If he doesn't, no bother, He probably eventually will, so just wait. Watch and wait, smelling of treats...........

• Have a go :)