I live with my sister and brother-in-law and their dog Atticus. Atticus is about a year and a half old, and he has never had any formal training. Because of the lack of training, he is extremely rowdy, noisy and rough with my puppy. Also, as a result of his disobedience, he has been mistreated to what I would say was abuse. I've been doing a lot of research on training and caring for dogs (just adopted my puppy, Sabina) and since I've got the time (but not the money for a professional trainer) I've decided to try to recover Atticus and help him to have a happier, healthier life by beginning training.
I began by kneeling in front of him (he towers over me when I do) and attempting to teach him the command "sit" with a treat. I don't physically push him down, I put the treat (in a closed fist) right by his nose and lift forward and up slightly to try to coax him into sitting.. instead he gets frightened, bows his head down and pees all over himself and the floor.
I understand that it must be my fist in his face that is frightening him.. but how am I supposed to teach him to sit without physically pushing him into the sit position.. which would be damaging to our mutual understanding of trust, right?
I've never struck this dog, Ive never yelled at him inappropriately, I've bathed him, I play with him, I pet him and brush him, I've fed him out of my hand to earn his trust.. and still he's so frightened that I can't teach him. What can I do to help him? :confused:

This may be a bit harsh, but, let him see you beat the crap out of who ever did the abusing that put him in this position to begin with.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest!

Am I getting this right your family is abusing this dog?

No, my family is not abusing the dog. Any and all abuse and abusers have been removed from the dog's life. He was never really physically abused by anyone in the family here. I wouldn't bring another animal into an abusive household if they were abusing him.

I'm no expert in this area and my having dogs in my life happened long ago.

I'm not sure the dog is freightened, but may be excited. He's too interested in the treat and not the command.

My guess is that you need some control first. The dog needs to behave on a leash outside during a walk. I might suggest that if the dog is getting rough with the pup. Go get the leash and control him within the house.

Labman has a sticky where you attempt to lift the dog off it's front legs until it doesn't show resistance, thus establishing dominance.

I remember stay, sit, shake (gimme your paw), catch, beg, speak and whisper.

I think I would work on becoming pack leader and "stay" first.

I don't remember treats working for "sit". Now getting a treat. Letting the dog smell the treat and then putting it out of reach and using a small amount of force on the hind quarters, probably worked. I just don't remember.

My dog was so playful and gentle. I'd tickle it's feet. I could gently trip him as part of play. I could use his body as a pillow. We could cuddle. I could feed him and take his bowl away at any time. He took his thyroid pills without incident.

You bring back some nice memories.

If he is peeing on himself, he is fearful. What type of treat are you using? You may need to find something he likes so much his desire for the treat overwhelms the fear. My Doberman woud turn his nose up at hot dogs, but would do anything for a bite of cheese.
When we do puppy kindergarten classes, we start teaching the puppy to "target" our hand, similar to what you are doing. The dog will eat out of your hand, so start there. See if he will try to get the treat from your hand if you hold it closed, but palm up and below his nose. Once he gets the hang of this, start moving your hand to different positions, so he learns the treat is in the hand and he should pay attention to where it is. At this point, no commands, just a game. You may have to lure him into a down first rather than a sit, since this will let you keep your hand lower than his hand. By now the hand should not be such a threat. Eventually you will be able to reduce or eliminate the treats, and turn the closed fist into hand signals. I think if you keep up with this method he will come around.
You might also explore clicker training. Look for a copy of Karen Pryor's book "Don't Shoot the Dog" for some good instructions. Patricia McConnell also has a good book for working with fearful dogs, but I can't remember the exact title.
Keep us advised of his progress.

This is how I taught one of my dogs to sit. Mind you he was not a submissive pee'r. I would do it with leash on and be by his side. I would gather the leash in my hand until it was a foot or so long then pull upwards on the leash and say sit while pushing down on his rear. This way there would be no eye to eye contact or no cowering over him. I would think that this may work if he is not afraid to have his rear touched. Then when he is in sit, give him a treat.

Carol's advice is always worth listening. This may help too:

Many dogs eventually outgrow it, but you can reduce it by building the dog's confidence up. Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog. Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.