The Easy Secret To Teaching Your Dog To Sit On Command

One of the first commands you teach your dog is the command to sit. Fortunately, this is not only easy, but a fun way to begin training your pet. This is an essential command because it could save your dog’s life if you teach it well. I won’t dwell on this, but more than one dog would have happily charged into traffic and certain death had its owner not saved it with the “sit” command.

The two methods I’m going to suggest in this short article are used by many trainers and reliably produce the desired behavior. If you are starting with a young puppy, begin training at about 8 weeks. Set a training regimen that you adhere to as regularly as possible, and always carry out the training in the same way. Always be gentle and firm, and you must be prepared to have inexhaustible patience and willingness to repeat as often as necessary for your dog to understand.

When running your dog through training routines, try to keep everything the same and predictable. This is important to dogs as it makes them feel safe and secure. Again, never lose patience and be willing to repeat as many times as necessary until your dog catches on.

Method 1

Catch your pet’s attention. Say its name and present a treat. The way to do this is to hold the treat a little in front and just above the animal’s nose. Now, slowly move the treat up and backward over its head. You dog will try to watch the treat, and as it follows the motion over its head, it will naturally lower its rear end into a sitting position. As the dog assumes the correct position, you utter the command “sit,” and offer a piece of kibble as a reward.

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.

Basic puppy training preparation–must know tips!