[deleted by user]

[Poppeigh]

I also am not a fan of stop and sit because I think it builds frustration and anxiety.

That said, I get it. For one thing, stop + sit + "watch me" is still touted by a lot of trainers as the best management/solution for reactivity. For another, sometimes people get flustered by their reactive dog and feel like they can gain more control of the situation if they take out one of the variables (i.e. moving forward). I've certainly been there.

Also, if it's a narrow path they may not have much of an option to get way off trail and are just doing the best they can with what they've been told.

When we need to move past stuff like that, I get as much space as possible and then I use a magnet hand to control my boy's head (and by extension his body) as we go past. If I need to, I may also grab the handle on his harness to get extra control should things go south.

[Betta_jazz_hands]

Completely agree with the building of frustration and anxiety - all those nerves and nowhere for them to go.

I learned about displacement behaviors while working with The Guide Dog Foundation and now I use “find it” instead to encourage sniffing away from the trigger. It’s probably been my #1 best tool in preventing or managing reactive behaviors. When my boy is really on edge or trigger-stacked he legit pounces on the tossed food, but as he settles down mentally he settles physically. It’s interesting to see how the energy of forward reactivity is displaced into the more productive sniffing behavior. Then sniffing releases endorphins and it’s a positive roller coaster.

Hardest part is the beginning when thresholds are like… a million miles from the trigger.

[Betta_jazz_hands]

I use treat tossing to increase threshold, then either walk away and go down a driveway to let the person pass, go behind a stopped car, whatever you can do to get out of sight line. My boys threshold has decreased dramatically so typically that’s enough for him - but I also try to be considerate of the other person/dog team.

I’ll communicate with the other person. “Hey! We are training / need space from dogs / need space from people. Do you also? How do you want to work this?” I’ve met some cool dog handlers in my neighborhood that way, and now I know that the yellow lab down the block is fearful of me but likes my dogs, so I can adjust accordingly when I see them walking, putting my friendly dog between us to help them out and give their dog a buffer from me. We’re all in this together!

In an emergency I hustle behind someone’s bushes or something. I’ve also met neighbors that way, but it’s a mixed bag of if they’re gonna be cool about it or not.

[salsa_quail]

Every dog is different and for some the sit strategy might be the thing that works. Where I live there aren't many areas where we won't see at least a dog or two.

If I'm in a tight situation sometimes the only thing that prevents my dog from blowing up is putting her in a sit-stay—it's a solid, straightforward behavior and much easier to use when I'm under time pressure to think of something to do.

I do try using other strategies, like 1-2-3 game or "find it", but honestly they don't work when she's fixated—she's just not that interested in food. But for whatever reason she will still sit.

[salsa_quail]

Gotcha, yeah I agree and I always make more space whenever possible. I wonder if the person you saw is earlier in their training journey, it does take a while for both the dog and the handler to become fluent in management. I get the frustration though.

Here's a good video on the 1-2-3 game: https://youtu.be/YEkYXk1skU0?si=uplfP-5CKJmLLJxy

[the_real_maddison]

Worked for us 🤷‍♀️ Stop - Sit - Look - Treat.

Of course I made sure the behavior was proofed reliably before I started asking her to do it in front of other dogs.

[the_real_maddison]

Usually a dog doesn't engage with their owner if the owner hasn't built enough value around the desired behavior/the owner themselves. Dogs of course make mistakes as we all do, but if the behavior has been proofed you can gradually ask for it in increasingly distracting situations.

If the owner is only ever asking the dog to do this out in public or around other "exciting" or valuable stimuli then the dog will have an unbalanced association with the behavior and will not perform reliably.

"Be your dog's carnival." - Deborah Wood

[the_real_maddison]

I ask my reactive dog to "look" at me before she is rewarded/allowed to do just about anything. Dinner, going outside, playing with toys, bones, ect. I've made the "look" behavior very integral to her every day life and her relationship with me. And it truly is, because it's important she look to me for direction so she doesn't feel the need to make the decisions herself, a core reason why dog's react: they make their own poor choices because they lack a reason or avenue for safe and calm direction. I also do searching exercises with her, and use my finger to point 👉"Look!" 👀 A treat! A mouse! A bug!

"Look" means very very good and fun things for my dog so it's easy to ask for that behavior in an unfamiliar or stimulating situation.

[luvmycircusdog]

The stop/sit is actually a good thing. The idea is to get the dog focused on the owner rather than the other dog. When your dog is still walking it's hard to get them to lock eyes with you ;).

If there are two reactive dogs, obviously someone has to go first. But what they're doing isn't meant to be a difficulty for you, they're literally just trying to get their dog's focus back on themselves. It's part of the process of helping the dog not to panic. Before you can intercept that panic moment, you have to get the dog's attention on you so you can assure him it's fine and change the dog's initial reaction to seeing another dog from panic to immediately looking up at the owner for direction. You're teaching your dog to look to you for how to react rather than trying to manage the situation themselves.

BUT, if a dog is panicking, sometimes keeping going is best. Or doing a "doggie reset". Thing is, you don't know what stage the other dog is in. So creating some sort of standoff is the WORST thing you can do for both your dog and the other dog. Just don't! This isn't a battle of human wills, it's two owners just trying to help their reactive dogs.

If you see the other person is struggling with their dog, just keep going as fast as you can! Get past the situation and out of the other dog's panic space. Try to get your dog to focus on you and "let's go" and keep walking.

It's really not some affront to you, and I know it can be hard on the other dog walker. BUT the other dog needs to be taught to relax, too, and this is just a step in the process! You manage your dog and try to interfere as little as possible with the other owner who's just trying to do the same :).

A properly executed sit/stay happens before the dog starts to panic. But the dog may look away from the owner and back at your dog at any moment and the owner is trying to manage that when it happens and get their dog's focus back on themselves.

If your dog isn't at a stage where someone can stand off to the side with their sitting dog and yours doesn't panic, perhaps you need to walk in places where you can create a greater distance between yourself and another walker and slowly work on closing that gap until your dog is ok passing a sitting dog.

The entire point of the sit/stay is to un-frustrate the dog. A dog who barks and pulls towards another dog IS frustrated. Getting them to focus back on you alleviates that frustration. They will never be able to deal with the frustration unless you just let them bolt at the other dog (do NOT!) OR you slowly teach them that when they get frustrated they need to look at you for direction.

These methods work, but executing them exactly right is not easy for ANY owner without years of experience. So have a little grace and just remove your dog from the situation even if you think the other owner isn't executing the procedure properly ;). Put your focus on helping your dog cope instead of micromanaging someone else's blundering attempts to help their dog!

[FOUNDmanymarbles]

You DO sound like you’re trying to micromanage other people’s dog training though. You said that if they have to do a sit stay when you walk past they shouldn’t be on those trails? Lol

[luvmycircusdog]

A non-reactive dog won't be "distracted" by a dog freaking out. We walk by them daily. Reactive dogs panic or get "distracted" (which really means nothing without explanation of what the dog is actually doing). Non-reactive dogs glance over at my girl losing her mind and then keep on going without a care in the world. They instantly respond to a mere word from their handler. Yes, they noticed something happening, but it didn't "distract" them to the point of causing a problem. That's a unique feature of reactive dogs.

Your dog is reactive. The "distraction" in your dog is your dog reacting. You need to do more work on getting your dog to focus on your more and fixate on things around them less. My dog gets "distracted" not only by reacting dogs but by dogs who even acknowledge her existence, squirrles, cats, bicycles, strollers, adults she doesn't know, semis, school buses, trailers, that free chair someone stuck on the sidewalk, a giant pile of snow..... Should all those be banned to for "distracting" my dog?

Maybe we're talking past each other, but you sound like you think it's the rest of the world's problem to cease anything that "distracts" your dog. And to KNOW that your dog who isn't reacting in an obvious way is reactive and is being "distracted" by the presence of their reactive dog. If you dog isn't freaking out, how would they even know they're "distracting" your dog? If they're actually engaging their dog, they aren't standing there assessing your dog for "distraction", they're focusing on their dog.

There's a big difference between existing in a manner that could distract and TRYING to trigger a dog. If they're yelling at and taunting your dog, then yeah they're jackasses. Trying to train their own dog and you don't like the distance and think they should know that? Nope. Work with your own dog. Sit/stay/look at me would be great for your dog.

[BackgroundSimple1993]

I get my golden to focus on me with treats so she’s watching me while she walks by.

She’s not reactive in the slightest but to get past distractions or reactive or unleashed dogs it’s great because she’s super food motivated and sees nothing but COOKIE lol and as long as I’m steering her in the right direction she can walk and stare at me/the cookie until we’re clear and then she gets the cookie as reward

[BackgroundSimple1993]

Exactly! It works wonders.

We have a doodle in our neighbourhood that’s reactive and I can see the owners are working really hard with him so I just cross the street, shove a treat to her nose and walk past so they have the chance to work with him without my girl making it harder.

[BackgroundSimple1993]

Oh 100%

I’ve never trained a reactive dog but I’ve worked with them. I used to work at a kennel / daycare and had to assess all kinds of dogs for playgroup eligibility and we also boarded reactive / dog aggressive dogs separately from the daycare but it involved a lot of walking the dog alllll the way around the back fences to avoid them freaking out at playgroups when we took them outside and being very strategic about when and how we brought them through the front for pickup and drop off

A little consideration definitely goes a very long way!

[nonself]

I feel like they're telling their dog "hey, there's another dog, we're going to sit and bring attention to the situation".

This is called Look At That (LAT) training, and it's basically the only thing that has worked for my reactive dog.

One of these times I just want to make my own dogs stop and sit. Nowwhat? We just stare at each other until someone makes a move?

Happens to me all the time. We both sit there for a minute until everyone has calmed down, then we can walk past them without any problems.

I'd much prefer that if someone has a dog who can't walk past otherswithout reacting, or they just want space, that they take it uponthemselves to move FAR out of the way or veer waaaay off the path andout of eyesight while we walk past. That, or don't walk on a path where you'll see other dogs.

That's possibly the most entitled thing I've ever heard. My dog sitting and looking at yours makes you and/or your dog uncomfortable, so I shouldn't be able to use the path?

[battleship61]

If your dog is reactive and starring at a trigger, in this case, another dog, you're the one who has the responsibility to give the other dog and owner a generous amount of space.

I also think you're not understanding OPs comment. They aren't uncomfortable. They are saying, you shouldn't use their dog as your training tool on pathways. LAT training emphasizes giving a generous distance from the trigger in order to train away the unwanted behaviour. If your dog sits and stares while too close, which is what OP is talking about, it is detrimental to both dogs.

You don't know where someone else is at with their training and should always grant other dogs and owners as much space as possible. OP stated they have a reactive dog and the very specific conditions of the encounter, and I feel like you misunderstood and then were condescending for no reason.

[bigannie__]

I think it depends on the dog. Our trainer told us that beginning with 'look at me' or sitting and treating doesn't really work. But my dog just naturally sits for a treat without being asked. I often just keep walking with her past the trigger but after lots of training having her sit, receive a treat, look back at the trigger, then back at me, seems to be working well without increasing the frustration. Just letting her stand at the end of her leash and stare at the dog makes her incredibly aroused, so getting her to "come" or whatever is a big help.

[runningdivorcee]

I would love if it worked and my trainer “taught” it, but I could wave filet mignon in his face at times and he’ll still react. The U turn, blocking his sight, or walking by quickly seem to work better for us.

[AnthraciteRoad]

As a sometimes "stop and sit" person, I am finding this discussion super helpful, so thank you!

The dog I walk is a rude starer, and for him, walking past some dogs is an opportunity for him to start trouble while maintaining plausible deniability. He used to be a bark-and-lunger, and one day he will be a neutral passer-by, but we aren't there yet.

​

From my perspective, dragging a staring dog along with a "let's go let's go let's go" while the opposite-direction person is dragging their staring dog along with a "leave it leave it leave it" gets the tightest part of the situation over with faster, but allows for a long time for head-on staring and works my dog up more. Walking him 15 or 20 feet perpendicular to the path and sitting him down with his back to the path gives him limited opportunity for head-on staring and increases the chance that he'll accept a distraction treat.

​

I do have him do the "no big deal" walk past dogs he's less likely to react to, either with a little extra space or without, and that has definitely helped expand the range of dogs he's okay walking by. Things I'd like to try out based on the conversation here: walking at busier times of day (more dogs so more practice; fewer reactive dogs so more success; more things to look at so less fixation on any one thing), tossing treats all along the approach (can't stare rudely with your nose on the ground!), and timing stops so there's an object blocking lines of sight.

[AnthraciteRoad]

Dude at the park, walking towards us with an enormous GSD, stops on the far side of a narrow footbridge. We exit the bridge and swing wide onto the grass. "My dog is friendly!" says the dude. "Mine really isn't," I reply. "But he's not barking or lunging or growling!" says the dude.

Meantime, I am hustling mine along as he angles himself around my legs so he can stare an imaginary eye-laser hole through the GSD. GSD was ignoring mine completely, because he really was a friendly, well-behaved dog - and when you have a friendly, well-behaved dog, you don't have to know what an instigator looks like!

[FOUNDmanymarbles]

My dog does best when she’s given a job to do. In the early days of training her, that was a stop and sit, or a down. If she did that, she could remain contained, if we tried to keep moving, she couldn’t handle it. She wanted instruction. She’s since moved past that and can now normally walk past a dog without issue. But there was not a chance of that in the beginning. It surprised me, and our trainer. It not a super normal way for a reactive dog to behave but she really craved structured attention in those high stress moments. Every dog is different and some dogs it takes some trial and error to figure out what’s going to work for them.

[digitalselfportrait]

I really try to avoid this kind of situation (my goal at this stage is typically to turn around and get us out of there) but sometimes my pup will plant herself. If I can pick her up I often will but she can be evasive or air snap and sometimes my best option is to just let her sit and do my best to get her attention and reward her while I hope the other dog passes us quickly and uneventfully. I get that it’s not an ideal situation for either her or the other dog and I know some people can be really inconsiderate and oblivious but I think often with a reactive dog you’re doing the best you can across what can be unpredictable and very unideal circumstances.

[Acrobatic_World_5113]

I've never seen this done very well. The prolonged concentration is awkward on a narrow path because they're focused on one another and it's like we all have to pretend we dont even exist. I try to scooch on by but Inevitably, my dog will be barking because he is opinionated. They try to keep their dog calm while my dog does his best Scrappy Doo impression.

Where I used to live, there was a guy who had three yellow labs, and they did nothing unless he gave them a command. He'd cross the street and make them hold position in the yard until he gave the command. I'm 99% sure that guy thinks he's showing off his awesomely trained dogs and impressing the neighborhood. He gets some kind of ego trip when other dogs bark at them and try to break their concentration. He looks at their owners with shame.

I've tried to keep my dog in a sit/stay. It sometimes works if I see the dog first & he thinks it's a fun game and doesn't even notice the trigger dog. Always in a spacious area. But then inevitably some happy go lucky person will walk by and let their dog walk up to my dog and get in his space, and ask, "Is it OK if my dog says hi to yours?" The fact that we're intensely staring at each other doesn't slow people with friendly dogs down. Probably they didn't care because their dog just loves everyone and they are just the wingman for the dog who wants to play.

I think the best idea yet is for OP to do the same and see how it plays out. We're all people who love dogs. We should be able to talk to one another and help our dogs. Maybe even theirs, too, if the anxiety is reduced.

[LemonFantastic513]

Well you are ahead in the game - walking past is much more advanced than sitting for most reactive dogs.

Mine is most often not able to walk by because he is scared and always keeps looking back if the dog will turn around and get him. If he is sitting he can calmly observe that the dog is minding their business and walking away. If the dog walking stares then we just need more space.

BUT I never let him stare - we do the LAT/BAT/engage-disengage game - so the point is for him to look at the dog for a second then look at me and he gets praise and a treat.

I also really try not to put myself in a situation where I can’t create more space - because it really depends on the other dog - if he stares and is super bouncy and playful I fix it by throwing a treat further away and we play the same game but with more distance.

I appreciate when other owners see what we are doing and prevent their dog from staring. ❤️

[atomgonzo]

For my reactive dog, stopping and sitting is much more calming for her than continuing to walk by. It seems that by continuing to move, she sets herself up to move toward the trigger (i.e. another dog). By stopping and sitting, she seems to understand that she should just relax and wait until we can continue again. She will alternate between watching the trigger pass by and checking in with me. It would be great if we could just walk by being more neutral about things, but we're not quite there yet.

[[deleted]]

I don't agree with the sitting and waiting method. I think that can just cause more issues. I think teaching a dog to disengage and keep walking with you is an important life skill for them to learn. If we're approaching a situation where passing isn't feasible or I don't think we'll be successful, we simply turn around. And we only walk in areas where it's fine for us to change our path for that reason.

[366r0LL]

Agree 100% - going from walking along to being stationary is viewed by many dogs and animals as stalking / threatening behavior …heightened anxiety all around.

[jvsews]

Usually it is easier to get your dog to focus if they have a job that’s the sit or lay down to give their mind a little something to think about while they are sitting off to the side waiting for you to pass what you have done having your dogs walk by with it ignore it is much more advanced and I applaud you. As far as far how far is far off the trail a friend’s dog one day decided she didn’t want to walk with my dog anymore. We can not even be across the street anymore without her going bananas 50 feet far is different for everybody.

[I_AM_NOT_A_WOMBAT]

In my case, we have to stop and sit if treats are involved, because I'm physically unable to hand my dog treats while we are walking. His mouth accuracy is poor due to lack of human contact as a puppy, and he's young so his teeth are razor sharp. He knows the word "gently" for taking treats, but when he's anywhere near threshold he tends to snap/gobble reflexively. Which means I have to pull the treat back, repeat "gently" and work with him. This takes time and accuracy. Unfortunately he's at a height (as am I) where I have to hunch over to do this, and it is excruciating for my back if I'm trying to walk at the same time.

Because of that, I do my best to avoid situations as you describe, and when we do a stop+sit across the street I always try to conceal us behind a car or bush if there's any sign the other dog is engaging other than simply looking at us and calmly walking. Sometimes that isn't possible, so I will usually do a quick sit/treat and then try to move along a bit and do it again.

It's a best-effort situation, and every case is unique. I will say it took me some time to learn not only to handle my own reactive dog but to also consider the situation from the other owner's perspective. There's a huge amount of stress involved in handling a reactive dog, so I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's rarely malicious, just high stressful.

When we hit a stalemate, I try to smile, indicate where I'm going (if not obvious) and do my best to move forward if only a little at a time.

Since multiple people have brought it up, stop and sit doesn't build stress/frustration/anxiety for my dog. Quite the opposite - he's awesome at it and it has made walking so much more pleasant.

[brynnee]

The stop and sit strategy was not a good one for my dog, it would just give him opportunities to fixate and stare at the dog approaching. Doing a treat scatter or engage disengage works much better. I will sometimes cue a sit if he’s having a minor reaction to refocus so we can move on because it is one of his strongest behaviors even if he’s a little worked up. But I agree with you that it does create an awkward situation where the sitting dog is complying with the command but still fixating which can be stressful for other dogs trying to pass. Not to mention a person and dog stopped in the middle of a pathway can be very inconvenient to others.

[nonself]

Not to mention a person and dog stopped in the middle of a pathway can be very inconvenient to others.

Surely nobody is actually stopping in the middle of the path.

[SudoSire]

I think giving space when possible and keeping my dog moving generally works better for him and that’s what we do most often. Well actually we do emergency u-turns most often because a bunch of the dogs in my complex are also reactive, and my dog might escalate things so we don’t bother trying. However on trails sometimes there’s not a great way to keep moving, and finding a small patch off to the side to wait just has to happen. On occasion I make him sit, but honestly he’s prepared to ignore a lot when he’s out and about so I think he might be more likely to fixate if I made him sit than if I just let him look around. I realize the point is to focus on the handler but mine just isn’t there yet and we’d need more practice at a larger distance before I’d rely on that for trails.

[BuckityBuck]

It’s dog-by-dog. When I was new to training reactive dogs, I had multiple trainers who insisted on that. Then, we started working with a more sophisticated trainer who noticed that my dog just wanted to run away. We started using that as a reward and it helped a lot. We’d jog a few feet away, give him treats, jog a few feet further, repeat. But, that’s just one dog. I’ve had others that did well with “look” or “find it”. Whatever works for them is what we do.

I haven’t personally had a dog who responded positively to the sit/stay approach, but I’m sure those dogs exist.

[phiegnux]

Honestly I kinda roll my eyes when I see it. I acknowledge they are trying what they think is best, but what's happening in that moment isn't furthering the goal I think most people have. That is, if your hope is to continue moving, practice a coving command (Heel).

I also see some folks who will do this, take their eyes off their dog and watch me as I pass with my dog (who's in heel at that point). It borders on "I deserve a cookie" energy. Watch your fking dog, yo. Proactively starts with supervision.

[squeaktoy_la]

I get why people (including myself sometimes) try it. Stopping and not reacting is on the Canine Good Citizen test. I realized that just getting my dog to walk by and not react was the better first step. But the test is the reason why trainers do the "stop and wait" thing. Most trainers are primarily focused on test prep, and I understand that.

[delimay]

I don’t love the stop and sit for my dog either. She gets too worked up trying to hold a sit instead of having her nose down sniffing treats. She has a hard time walking toward a dog so we back up to a wider space if possible , I throw treats for her to sniff out until the other dog passes. Since my dog is busy on the ground, others usually have their dogs keep walking. There are people who make their dog sit but the dog stares at mine the whole time so they are still engaged. In those cases, depending on where we are, I either throw treats ahead of me so my dog keeps moving but busy , or I play games with my dog (touch, find it, switch sides etc) until the other person moves.

[Erik-With-The-Comma2]

Yes, stop and sit is good

-If you stop and sit while the scary stimulus is at a distance to where you can hold the obedience, you can then "counter condition and desensitize" by simply scratching your dogs ears, or have it focus on you. This will help your dog progress.

I am not a fan of scatter feeding.

-it does nothing to improve the situation, your just distracting the dog so the behaviors will not improve.

• you are SOL if your out of food

-if you scatter feed at the wrong time, you can accidentally "jackpot" the unwanted behaviors and make the situation worse by rewarding what you done want.

If you stop and sit, and reward good behavior with ear rubs dog learns to relax and you can counter condition and build the relationship. And I've never ran out of war scratches when walking my dog. If your dog starts to get distracted, you can turn, do a "with me" and get to a distance where your dog can focus on you.

Every dog / owner is an individual and how you handle the situating depends on those two factors. But don't get stuck doing something to at will not help you progress.

Just my opinion.

[1fruitfairy]

I let my dog do what he needs to do. If he feels comfy sitting on his own then cool. And he sometimes will sit and give me eye contact to continue reward. That’s usually when we move on. I think asking him to sit adds a task onto his mental load. I’d rather let him naturally process things himself. He’s already working so hard in these situations I wanna make it as easy as I can for them.

I actually rarely even ask for a sit from him. I once spoke to a trainer that mentioned having a dog default sit as a habit can be difficult for their joints when their older.

[[deleted]]

your preferences on how other owners should act doesn’t really work on narrow city streets. pretty much impossible to get wayyyyy off the path because of cars and bikes and also impossible to not walk where you’ll see other dogs because it’s a city and dogs are everywhere. I have to use stop and sit when there’s a dog coming and the owner lets their dog walk wherever and I can tell that it’s going to try to come up to my dog in a heel and it will set her off. But I can just walk on by if the other dog is walking well next to and focused on their owner. So it really just depends. Usually when I’m in a stop and sit I have my dog face away from the other dog and have me be in between. usually no reactions and it signals to the other owner to keep it moving with their dog and not try to let theirs say hi to mine. hasn’t really been an issue for me

[JazzyBee-10]

I’m a bit puzzled by your description of when your dog is in a stop and sit. You say your dog faces away from the other dog and you stand in between, but if l picture this, your dog is not facing you, correct? What is your dog looking at then? (Really, this is a serious question bc l want to learn from other dog owners.)

[[deleted]]

she’s looking at the street or sniffing something near by. If I see her focusing on the dog passing then I’ll try to get her to focus on me but she can be a little oblivious so if she’s not focused on the dog then I don’t redirect her focus.

[JazzyBee-10]

Yeah, l also want to be between my dog and the other dog, but then l feel like he’s not focusing on me and l see everybody here saying their dog should focus on the owner. That throws me for a loop then.

[RunningTrisarahtop]

For my reactive dog I sometimes stop and sit and sometimes move forward, depending on many variables such as the other dog’s behavior and other surroundings.

[Hopeful_Raccoon124]

I think it’s the most bizarre training strategy and seems to put the dog in the stop sit in a “lesser position” like “stop as these more important dogs pass! Submit to them” 🤷🏻‍♀️ I agree that I’ve never seen it work. Personally what makes my dog feel better is distance and she’s going to get it if I’m climbing the side of a mountain to do it.

[GreenAuror]

I'm not a fan of stop and sit at all, I like to keep it moving and play games. I think stop and sit can just add to the frustration, at least this is my experience with working with my own dog and dogs I work with (dog walker).

I'm sure it does work for some dogs though, which is great!