The Easy Way To Teach Your Dog Sit On Command
The “sit” command is not only one of the easiest and most enjoyable commands to begin teaching your pet but is essential for the safety of your puppy. This command saves dog’s lives everyday by preventing them from hurling themselves obliviously into traffic and certain death. Teaching the command is fun way for you and your new dog to get to know each other; please be sure to do it well.
There are two basic methods to reliably teach your dog to sit. If you have a puppy, start training at around 8 weeks. Be sure to set a training schedule and stick to it as well as you can. Always do your training routines the same, and be prepared to repeat the same routine again and again with patience and firm gentleness until your dog begins to understand. And, of course, give lots of praise followed by an occasional treat to reward proper behavior.
When putting your pet through its paces, try to be as predictable as possible. That means that doing everything the same. As you continue training your dog, you see that this “sameness” is crucial as it allows your dog to feel safe, secure, and confident. Again, never lose patience and always give lots of praise followed by an occasional treat.
Method 1
The first thing you want to do is catch your dog’s attention. In this method, you do this by uttering your pet’s name while holding a treat in front of and just above your dog’s muzzle. Move the treat in a slow arc above and backward over its head. Your dog will want to keep its eyes on the morsel, and as it moves its head back, its rear end will reposition itself on the floor. As you see the dog begin to sit, firmly utter the command, “sit.” Follow this by praise and a treat.
It goes without saying that you will need to repeat often in order for your dog to “get it.” I suggest working in 10 minute units of time. Later, as your dog gets more training experience, you may want to increase this to 15 minutes, though I wouldn’t recommend going beyond 15 minute training sessions for this single command. As your puppy begins to catch on, you will be able to gradually replace treats with praise. Generally speaking, you do not want your dog’s obedience to be treat dependent. Expect to take approximately 2 weeks in order for your dog to start reliably obeying the command.
Method 2
This method is similar, but you will need to position your dog on your left, and you may want to have it on a leash. Here, you hold a treat in front of your dog, say “sit,” and then gently press down on its hind quarters. When the dog sits, give it praise and a tiny piece of the treat. If you have your puppy leashed, then a gentle tug up on the leash accompanied by gentle push on the dog’s rear will also cause it to sit. Be sure to give the “sit” command and reward with praise and a treat.
Find out more about dog and puppy training, learn more about crate housebreaking and other basic puppy training techniques.
