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.
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 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
First, get the dog’s attention by saying its name and showing it a treat. Hold the treat in front of your pet and just above the dog’s nose. Slowly move the treat up and over its head. You will actually be moving it backward over its head. Your dog will try to keep its eye on the treat and in doing so will drop his hind end on the floor in a “sit” position. As the dog sits, say “sit.” And then give the dog a tiny piece of the treat.
Now, you will need to repeat this. You might set a 10 or 15 minute training period each day. As your puppy begins to understand, you will find that your dog will respond to the hand motion and you can begin rewarding with praise instead of a treat. In all training, you want to wean the dog away from treat rewards. Plan on spending a couple of weeks with this for reliably consistent obedience.
Method 2
Method 2 is similar to method 1 and is actually the one I prefer. This method requires that you leash your dog and have it positioned to your left. The way this works is that when you say, “sit,” you gently tug upward with leash and gently push down on the dog’s hind end. Follow the completion of the act with praise and a treat. Rinse and repeat for about 10 minutes. If you have a young puppy, consider several sessions of 5 to 10 minutes throughout the day.
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