The Go-out is a hard exercise to teach and even a harder exercise perfect. Dogs are situational and it takes a lot of work to teach a dog to generalize this exercise such that they are comfortable preforming it in different places to different walls, ring gates, etc...
Often, however, trainers are so worried about the go-out itself that they neglect the "turn & sit" part of this exercise. And yet without a well taught and cleanly executed "turn & sit" you can derail your entire go-out effort.
Teaching the turn&sit:
I am not a big fan of the "scream your dog's name and when they turn back to look at you firmly command SIT" method. I think this method does little to teach your dog anything and nothing to explain to them what type of behavior you are looking for.
What are you looking for?:
(1) Turn in place
(2) Sit quickly facing directly back to you
(3) No steps forward
Six other methods to teach the go-out turn & sit:
(1) Spin -- You can teach your dog a "spin" command, such that you will command "Fido Spin" rather than "Fido sit". You will teach the "spin" independent of the go-out itself. You will teach your dog to go from a standing position to turning 180 degrees and sitting, upon the command "spin". You can start teaching this by luring this behavior with a cookie, but remember that the cookie must be faded and that it is important that the dog understand that "spin" means turn 180 degrees and has nothing else to do with your position (or position of your hand--- when luring). I really like the results of the "spin" technique. The handler says "Fido Spin" and the dog spins in place (sometimes even jumping up and around) and lands in a beautiful straight sit. (Now an admission: For what it is worth, I tried and failed to teach Rosco to turn&sit using this technique. I was never able to fade my body position and hand motion completely and get a totally independent turn&sit from him. This should in no way discourage you from trying this method if you would like to, it is just something I felt compelled to admit.)
(2) Quick Turn & sits -- You can teach your dog what you expect of them when you say "Fido sit" but physically turning them and sitting them facing toward you. For example as your dog is walking away from you, any old time at home, you can say "Fido sit" as you reach over and grab their collar (preferably under their neck) and quickly turn them around and sit them facing you. Make sure you give lots of praise. You can make this a really fun game that the dog will enjoy. This method will build the habit of turning quickly in a small circle and sitting facing you. It will also help the dog understand that the "Fido sit" command can come at any time and they must quickly preform it no matter what else they are doing. I know many handlers who have used this technique with much success.
(3) Cookie Toss -- I learned this method from Adele Yunck and have used it with my dogs. I have found it especially useful to avoid and eliminate steps forward on the turn&sit. You start with a hand full of cookies and you throw one away from you (I also say "get it" at the same time), as soon as your dog has eaten the cookie you command "Fido sit", if your dog doesn't spin to face you or takes any steps toward you, mark the incorrect action ("oops" or other word you use) and walk toward your dog such that they are sitting in front of you. I find that just saying "oops" (which my dogs understand as a marker for a mistake made) and stepping toward them will make them re-think what they are doing and results in a sit. However you can, and may need to, take hold of your dog and physically take them back to the spot they should have sat and sit them there. Than throw another cookie away from you (in any direction), say "get it" at the same time (optional), and as before after dog is finished eating say "Fido sit". When you get a nice small circle, of dog orienting back toward you, and nice clean sit, with no step forward, run over and reward your dog in that position, give more or better cookies than the ones you use for the toss. Keep this whole exercise a fun and happy game. Don't correct your dog too harshly or too much. Once your dog has done the exercise right several times, just saying "oops" and giving no cookies for incorrect turns is often enough (with no resetting or stepping forward needed).
(4) Go out box / platform /jump stanchions -- Many trainers use go-out boxes or platforms with great success. By teaching your dog to sit on, and than to, turn on and sit on, a platform. Or to walk into, turn, and sit in a box (often made of wood or PVC looks like a C (open end oriented toward you)) you can place this at the end of the dog' go-out and really clearly explain to the dog what you expect from a turn&sit and where you want it preformed. Once the dog has built this habit and muscle memory you will fade the platform or go-out box. Alternatively you can use jump stanchions or chairs and teach your dog that at the end of the go-out they are to turn and sit between these objects. These also must than be faded. One of my dogs veers to the left at the end of his go-out so I often use just one jump stanchion, or chair, or cone on the left edge of his turn&sit to re-enforce where he is suppose to be, and if he makes a mistake, to help me explain to him why he is wrong ("this side of the post buddy, remember between these two posts, not out here").
(5) Asking for turn in un-natural direction -- Dogs will almost always have a "preferred" direction in which they will turn and sit (this is the same way they will turn after picking up the dumbbell). You will be able to notice this "handedness" in your dog's turning immediately, and likely they will turn in the same direction every time. By teaching your dog to turn in the other direction, the un-natural direction, you can gain more control and therefore demand more precision on the turn&sit. By turning in the un-natural direction the dog isn't just "doing it" they will need to think about what they are doing more. And therefore you can shape a tighter turn and a cleaner sit. This "un-natural direction" turn&sit is often taught the same way as number 2 above. Which is to say, physically turning the dog (in the un-natural) direction, this time, and sitting them facing you. However you can teach it whatever way your dog will understand best. The important thing here is that the dog turn in the un-natural direction. (If your dog is one of the few that doesn't have a preferred direction, I am sorry you are out of luck with this method, but I strongly suggest that whatever way you end up teaching the turn&sit that you demand that your dog do it the same way each time and not allow them to choose.)
(6) Butt to the fence -- I know one trainer who used this method to teach her dog the turn and sit. I have not used it myself but for the sake of completeness I wanted to include it here. I think this method would be easiest to teach using a clicker to free shape this behavior. In the "Butt to the fence" technique the dog is taught that when they hear "Fido sit" they turn themselves around 180 degrees and sit with their rear TOUCHING the fence, wall, ring gate, etc... (of course in the ring you will pull them short of this) but by building the habit of going all the way to the ring barrier and than touching it with the rear you teach the dog to 1. do a full length go-out, 2. sit oriented back toward you with no steps forward. I am not totally sold on this technique because since you will never do a go-out all the way to the ring barrier in the ring you are risking the dog figuring out that the criteria you require in practice are not needed in the ring and that is dangerous ground. However for the sake of completeness I wanted to include this method.
Without a good turn&sit even the most wonderful go-out is not going to be well scored, not to mention that your dog might be badly set up for the jumps. However to get a good turn&sit you must TEACH the behavior. If you choose not to teach it and just "yell your dogs name and sit" than you are effectively allowing your dog to define their own criteria which may include, any or all of the following, (1) large loopy turns, (2) slow crocked sits, (3) steps forward. To be fair, you must "explain" (and by this I mean "teach") your dog what you want from them on the turn&sit. I hope the six methods above give you some ideas. You can try any of them or any of them them in combination to find what will work best for your dog. You may also consider using a word other than "sit" to mean "turn and sit facing me" (one of the methods above I recommend using "spin" since that method requires a completely new behavior for the turn&sit that really isn't a sit, however you may choose to do this for any of the above, just remember to be consistent and clear in what you require).
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