I've just come back from ambers training session where the instructor wanted to know why she still sits like a puppy ie legs over one side sort of lounging, he was saying that if i dont correct her soon that she would end up with very bad hips in a few ywears time,We had her hip checked at aprrox 9mths old (x-ray) and was told that they were pretty sound for a lab, we were careful not to over exercise her as a pup and also keep her waeight at aprrox 28kgs,Has anyone got any ideas in helping i know about walking by a wall and getting her to sit straight then so whilst out for our walks there shouldn't be too much of a problem but what do you do during the other 10 hrs a day when shes wandering around the house or garden, i think its got to the stage that its a habit, and one  that is going to take a lot of breaking 

I wouldn't worry too much as sometimes certain Labs do sit like this and have sound hips ! :)

If you are at all worried then take her back for a check up justy to put your mind at rest :)

LOL in all the years I have been dog training I have never heard that one.

Labs are often floppy in their sits, after all they never come out of puppyhood do they? :)

If you are training with food or a toy, just bring the food up higher to make her reach up for it, that should put her in the correct sit position.

Sandra

I really don't think it is a problem.  My lab will sit lovely in obedience but slouches all over the place at home.  I think that if they CANNOT sit straight for a period of time e.g in a sit stay then it may be that they are experiencing some discomfort but I really wouldn't worry if I was you at this stage. Labs are naturally slouchy lol

If you want to correct a slouchy sit though - just hold a treat higher up and teach a command such as "sit up" then reward.

thats funny cos my choc lab bitch amber also lols around all the time, she can sit straight if she wants to but always chooses the easy option.lol

Load of rubbish! ;) You don't say the age of the dog but as you had the hips checked out at 9 months so she must be at a stage now where her bones have fully hardened so she will not do herself any harm!

It is known a a lazy sit and Labradors are the past masters of it. My thoughts are that it stems from the fact that Labs were bred to work and part of that is sitting around for long periods of time, so they have got use over the generations to sitting comfortably! When I'm out with Anna it is not unusual for me to leave her sitting for half to three quarters of an hour while the beaters are walking around the wood.

If you wish to work obedience it is quite easy to train a straight sit but dont get worried if when she relaxes she sits comfortably.

Best wishes, John

Sorry John i forgot to mention that shes 3yrs,Many Thanks for all your advice, i look forward to enlightening our trainer next week LOL., I think he just wanted to find fault as my 9 yr old daugher was handeling her and was doing better than his dogs!

If she is 3 then there is defo no problem.  It's just a lab thing.  They just love their comfort as John says they can be left for long periods of time sitting whilst they are working so they are only doing what we would do and getting comfortable.

Just because the hips are ok does not necessarily mean that there may not be something minor amiss.  Although I agree with the others that some dogs can be lazy sitters etc, very, very occasionally it can indicate that there is something "out" in the verterbrae.  I have just had my 3 year old bitch checked over by the chiropractic as a "preventive" measure and though she sits straight, jumps etc and moves very nicely she identified a slight tweak necessary with her pelvis and one of her thoracic verterbrae.

I compete with my dog and I thinks a yearly checkup with the chiropractic is useful for all dogs (especially those who compete) as well as horses and people!  In my experience, by the time you notice a problem exists it has often been going wrong for some considerable time before it becomes visible to the naked eye.  Much easier to prevent muscular skeletal disorders than treat them.

Just a thought.

Dawn,

Hiya, I wouldn't worry too much about it.  As long as you don't think that there is anything else that could be medically wrong with her, as suggested by tohme, then it may just be that it is more comfortable.  My girl, Isla has two types of sit.  A 'working' sit, sitting up bolt upright for short sit stays and recalls, and a 'I might be her for some time' type sit stay, which is almost always to the side. 

I always think that it means that labs must be very intelligent to find the best sitting position with the least effort:)

Cheers
Ali :)