"Sit"

I've been reading about using positive re-inforcement to teach obedience to commands, etc. I read a suggestion of using a treat to reward immediate response to simple commands to re-inforce and teach the wanted behavior. I thought, okay... Eva has issues with following some commands like "come" and especially the "sit" command, I'll give it a try. Eva likes to stand precariously on chairs and three legged stools and any other inappropriate thing she can find. So, I have some fruit flavored candy treats that Eva likes but doesn't get very often... I got them out and waited for her to stand up on a chair again. I didn't have to wait long, walked over and stood next to her and told her to sit. She didn't so I tapped her on the knee and said sit again... she sat and I gave her a treat. Well...that was good, according to Eva but not good enough to keep from standing again. I didn't have to wait long to try my command again, I said "sit." And she sat... very quickly. I gave her a treat. Now, Eva is not a mentally slow child. She looked at me, looked at the treats and stood up. I said again, "sit," She immediately plopped herself down and opened her mouth. I gave her a treat. The second she was finished chewing it, she scrambled up again. I said "sit," and she sat and opened her mouth. Okay, I'm not such a slouch either on figuring things out, and I had figured out by this time that my sweet and beautiful daughter had learned how to play the system and get herself a treat. Needless to say, the next time she stood up and sat down, she didn't get the candy. To be fair, the technique did work... it did get Eva to sit down quickly. Only, I'm not sure it counts due to the fact that it also encouraged her to miss-behave along with encouraging her to behave.

Eva has gotten better at the "sit" command. However, I have had more success with consistancy, applause (good behavior recognition), and chair removal (unwanted consequences) than I did with the candy.