TT Training Tip 2: Have Your Dog Sit
T.T. Training Tip #2: How do I get my dog to sit?
Hi I am Matt, an Animal Behaviorist with Trusty Tails and I would like to give you some training tips and ways to get your beloved dogs to do as you ask. I am going to start by saying that training your dog takes time and effort and you will get out of it what you put in.
How do I get my dog to sit?
With that being said lets start with getting your dog to sit, now some of you may think that its very simple to get your dog to sit and it is as long as you do it correctly. There are many ways to get your dog to sit, some of them work better than others, and I will give you the one that worked the best for me.
Step One: Use Positive Reinforcement with Tasty Treats
The best technique for this particular behavior I have come across, by a long way, is the positive reinforcement technique. For those of you who may not know what that means, it’s adding something to strengthen a behavior. So lets get right to it, how to get your dog to sit?
First you should find out what treats your dog likes best and then get a whole load of them. Why treats you may ask, well dogs get stimulated by food, they will be much more receptive when food is being offered to them in exchange for a behavior.
Now that you have your treats you are ready to get started with the training.
Step Two: Command Voice
Using a command voice is very important in showing your dog you are in charge. If you want to practice your command voice in mirror feel free.
Step Three: Dog Should be Calm
To teach your dog to sit you need for your dog to be calm so if he/she is bouncing off the walls you won’t get very far, take your dog for a walk to let them get out their energy so that when you get home they are much calmer and more receptive to you.
Step Four: Give Command “SIT”
At last we have a calm dog standing in front of you and you wish to get your dog to sit, make sure you have a treat in your hand and then give the command “SIT” (you know, the one you practiced in the mirror). At the same time as giving the command raise your hand (with the treat in it) above the dogs head.
The dog will probably be looking at your hand as they can smell the treat and because of this your dog will sit (9 times out of 10) to keep you hand in their line of sight.
However if it is that 10th time and instead of sitting they back up, you should start again but adjust you arm movement so that your hand moves directly above your dogs head.
Step Five: Give Treat
Once your dog has sat after you gave the command and raised your hand over their head, you should give them the treat and praise their behavior.
Step Six: Repeat
You should repeat this technique for as long as it takes for you dog to learn it. Once your dog has learned to sit you should continue but slowly remove the treat from the process but still reinforce the behavior with verbal praise. As you remove the food remove the hand movement until all you have to do is say “SIT” and your dog sits. Remember that you need to keep reinforcing this behavior every so often so that they continue to obey your command.
Need Help With Basic Training?
Trusty Tails is here to help! We love teaching dogs young and old how to do basic commands, sit, stay paw, speak, heal, jump, give hugs during our scheduled visits Give us a ring at we can teach your dog something too. We’re at 201-446-1559 or schedule a call with us at a time that works for you and get on our calendar now.
