Many of my clients' dogs will listen to cues in the house but act like they're speaking Yiddish the minute they're out in public with their dogs. This is very frustrating, but it can be fixed! One of the first steps to take is to break down the criteria jump. Don't jump straight from doing a sit inside the house to doing a sit at the dog park! That jump in the criteria is much to difficult to expect your dog to do.
Instead, start out by asking your dog to sit in your backyard. Next, your front yard. Then, 5 steps down the street from your house. Make sure your dog gets a food, toy, or butt scratch reinforcer, not just praise for these!
Then. begin to ask for sits on walks around the neighborhood. Then, try a sit just after your dog gets out of the car at the dog park but not when you're right near the entrance. Pretty soon, you'll have worked your way up to a sit in the middle of the dog park even with other dogs around! You just have to break down the criteria and help your dog succeed by taking smaller steps towards your goal!
