One essential skill for your dog to learn in obedience training is how to sit. For dogs, it’s a fundamental command that serves as the basis for additional training. It’s simple to teach your dog to sit, and it gives him a good foundation for training. Your dog will be able to better manage his impulses and progress to more advanced training once he has mastered the sit and remain commands.
When may a dog be trained to sit? It is possible to teach sit and stay to dogs of any age. Puppies can start basic sit training as early as eight to sixteen weeks of age.
When you are walking your dog and you get to a crosswalk or when you are introducing your dog to new people, the sit command will come in handy. With more sophisticated training, your dog may learn to sit as his default posture and to use the word “please” to ask for what he truly wants.
Here are the top six methods for teaching your dog to sit, straight from the Pretty pets experts. See how the advice is used by watching our video.
How to Train Your Dog to Sit
One of the most fundamental instructions for dogs is sit, which also serves as the foundation for training them in tricks, agility, and obedience. It will take some practice and reinforcement to teach this command, but most dogs learn it up fast.
Bring along plenty of your dog’s favorite treats and a clicker before the first lesson. Use verbal cues and praise instead of a clicker if you don’t have one or don’t want to use one for sit training. Just remember to use it regularly. Starting in a quiet space with less distractions is ideal.
1: Get your dog’s attention with a treat
- Give your dog a call.
- Place the candy close to his nose.
- Pro tip:
- Take away any distraction from the space to make sure your dog is concentrating on you.
2: Raise the treat over his head
- Use the confection as a bait.
- Lift your palm holding the reward over his head, slide it between his ears, and then transfer it to his back.
- Pro tip:
- He will instinctively want to sit and follow the goodie to his back.
3: Give the sit command once
- As soon as the dog begins to return to a sitting posture, say, “Sit.”
- Pro tips:
- Don’t force your dog to sit if he won’t go on the floor.
- If you give your dog the command more than once, it will become less meaningful to them. Try to give the command just once.
4: Click or say “Yes” when he sits
- Say “Yes” or “Well done” or click when his behind touches the floor.
- This lets your dog know that what he just accomplished was what you want.
- Give a prize and express gratitude afterwards.
- Pro tips:
- Make sure that you only offer him praise and goodies when he is seated.
- When he gets back up on his feet and you compliment him, he will become puzzled.
- Take small steps to extend the time between when he sits and when he receives praise and goodies in order to prevent “jack-in-the-box” behavior.
5: Reward with a treat
- As soon as you click or indicate verbally that he completed the task, give him a treat and some praise.
- Pro tips:
- Establish sitting as your dog’s go-to posture.
- Reward him when he approaches you and sits down.
- Reward him for sitting while you fill the feeding bowl.
- In certain circumstances, you might need to ask your dog to sit; nevertheless, after a sufficient number of requests, he will sit on his own.
6: Keep practicing
- Give him lots of praise when he follows the verbal command
- To get your dog to stand again, walk away or throw a treat in the opposite direction
- Then repeat the lesson
- Pro tips:
- After a while, stop using the treat lure and mostly praise your dog instead; however, you can still use goodies on occasion.
- Try luring your dog with an empty hand.
- Once he understands, gradually increase the subtlety of the hand motion until you are simply need to elevate your hand by your side.
- Declare the command aloud before moving your hand to make sure it is clear.
- You can gradually reduce the intensity of your hand signal and save it for situations where your dog is extremely agitated or distracted.
Put the training on hold for a while and return to it later if you or your dog are becoming frustrated or if they are not understanding. It should be enjoyable and a chance for you and your dog to get closer during training.
Recall that learning a new command requires persistence and dedication. However, after your dog has learned to sit, you can begin teaching him more difficult instructions for tricks and obedience training.