The Problem with Sit Pretty

When you type ‘sit pretty’ into Google, the vast majority of articles and blog posts promote this trick as an excellent way to strengthen a dog’s core abdominal muscles. However, when you search ‘core activation exercises for dogs’, there is no mention of it. So, why is that?

I recently ran a poll on my dog’s Instagram account asking if people knew the potential detrimental effects teaching ‘sit pretty’ could have? Most people didn’t. Some knew it wasn’t the greatest trick to get their dog to do, but still chose to ask for it on an infrequent basis. A handful said they would still continue to ask for it regularly, irrelevant on any information presented.

I was going to write a post outlining the problems many Canine Rehabilitation Professionals have with teaching dogs ‘sit pretty’; however, this has already been covered extensively by Laurie Edge-Hughes, BScPT, MAnimSt (Animal Physiotherapy), CAFCI, CCRT. So I am going to link to the article here for you to read, and simply explain my additional views. I would encourage you to read the whole article that Laurie has written, including the addendum. I am aware that there has been a lot of controversy regarding this post; however, with a background as a human Physiotherapist for 24 years, and now currently working as a Canine Myofunctional Therapist, I do support her views.

In order to help you understand the points in Laurie’s article I will break them down for you here:

1.     ‘Sit Pretty’ is not a functional exercise. What does that mean? Essentially a functional exercise is one that mimics every day activities. In human rehabilitation, physiotherapists refer to these as closed kinetic chain exercises. This is where the segment furthest (or most distal) from the body is stationery. Examples of these exercises are squats and step-ups. This is in contrast to open kinetic chain exercises, where the distal aspect is free. An example of this is when you perform knee extension exercises using a machine at the gym. In dogs, sit to stand exercises (the equivalent of human squats) would be considered a functional exercise, as it mimics an activity they perform on a daily basis; however, ‘sit pretty’ is not. It is only performed when asked for by owners. There are dogs who will offer ‘sit pretty’ without having ever been taught it. If this is your dog I wouldn’t be too concerned, although I wouldn’t necessarily continue to encourage it either.

2.     It puts a lot of pressure on a dog’s facet joints. The facet joints are located on the top and bottom of each vertebra (the bones of the spine), joining one to the other. They transfer load, allow for movement, but also block movement that is undesirable. ‘Sit Pretty’ places more force through these facet joints than standing, walking or even going up and down stairs. In order to compensate, extra stress is placed on other parts of the spine and body. While this may not be an issue if it happens infrequently, when a movement happens regularly the part of the body that is taking the increased stress starts to break down. If you have ever had a sprained ankle and, after weeks of hobbling, you notice your hip starts to get sore you will know what I mean.

3.     Dogs are missing some of the spinal ligaments humans have. It is theorised that the reason for this is that we, as two-legged and upright creatures, need these additional ligaments for added stability. However, quadrupeds (who for the most part have all four legs on the ground at once) don’t need this additional support. While dogs do have a Quadratus Lumborum ligament that is thought to help stabilise the spine, it is a lot thinner and not as strong as the iliolumbar ligament that humans have.

These are my additional thoughts on ‘Sit Pretty’:

Firstly, I would ask yourself why you want your dog to do this trick?

If it’s to get a cute picture on social media you know will get a lot of likes, and you are well aware of the potential detrimental effects, then by all means go right ahead! I always say that, as long as we have the knowledge and weigh up the risks versus benefits, it is up to every individual owner to make choices for them and their dog. It is not up to me, or anyone else, to judge.

However, if you are using ‘sit pretty’ because you thought it was a good way to strengthen your dog’s core, then I would encourage you to implement alternative exercises. You can find these at the end of Laurie’s article (again I will link to it here).

Secondly, if you have ever been prescribed core-strengthening exercises for yourself, what does your therapist have you do? When teaching core exercises to a human, rehabilitation therapists have you start with positions where there are four points of contact with the ground. Think both plank and bridging exercises. This is because it is easier to learn how to isolate core contractions in these positions, before implementing them in more functional activities such as squatting, stair climbing and walking.

Sit to stand, stair climbing and walking are also functional activities our dogs do. ‘Sit Pretty’ is not. Once again, I’m not going to tell you not to teach your dog this trick. That is completely up to you. However; what I will ask is that that you don’t teach it in isolation, but instead build up to it by first implementing exercises that activate your dog’s core muscles while they have all four limbs on the ground.

Just remember that our dogs are no different to us. They need to learn to walk before they can run. And they need to learn how to master a basic skill, before they learn more complex ones.

If you have any additional thoughts on ‘sit pretty’, I would be interested in hearing them. So please drop me a comment below.

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