Teaching a Dog to Sit

Teaching your dog to sit is one of the most basic obedience tricks or commands a dog can learn. It is also one of the most important because the ‘Sit’ command builds foundation for many other tricks and commands that you may eventually want to teach. Having a solid ‘Sit’ is very important when it comes to teaching a dog ‘Sit-Stay’ commands, balancing a bone on his or her nose, or many other advanced tricks you can teach your dog in the future.

First, begin by letting your dog know that you have a treat or a piece of kibble by letting him or her smell or lick it.

Second, hold the treat or piece of kibble just over the dog’s head and say ‘Sit.’ When you are teaching your dog verbal commands, say them in a calm assertive tone. There is no need to shout, yell, or scream a command. This will just confuse your dog and frustrate you.

Next, move the treat or kibble above your dog’s head toward his or her back. As soon as their butt hits the ground say ‘Sit’. Praise them and then give your dog the treat. Praising them is beneficial because a dog can hear pitch and tone changes in your voice.

Repeat this exercise until your dog has a consistent and clean ‘Sit’. You should only have to give the command once. It should not be “Sit…Sit…Sit…Fluffy Sit…” It should be a simple “Fluffy, Sit”.

You can gradually wean off of the treats once their sit is consistent. You can give your dog a treat every third or fifth time he or she sits. You can also say ‘Good Girl!’ or ‘Good Boy!’

After you have successfully taught your dog the ‘Sit’ command, you can challenge them by having them sit at different distances; which will be beneficial to your dog’s training later on.

Clip a leash onto his or her collar and put the end of the leash around a door knob, chair, or something else that cannot be pulled. You want your dog to sit whenever you say the command regardless of how close or far you are. You don’t want them running back to you and then sitting.

After your dog’s leash is hooked to something sturdy, they can’t get back to us. Instead, they will have to sit where they are at in order to get a treat. Teaching your dog to sit on command whenever and where ever will be highly beneficial when you want to move on to more advanced tricks.

Begin by hooking the leash around an object that cannot be pulled or tipped easily. Next, walk about 3 feet away from the dog and say, “Sit”. If he or she sits right away, then praise your dog and give them the treat. If they don’t, then continue to say “Sit” until they do it.

The next step is to increase the distance between you and your dog. Give the dog the ‘Sit’ command again. Repeat these steps until their ‘Sit’ is as consistent as it would be if you were right next to them.

Have fun with this and so will they. Your dog will learn quicker if they enjoy what they are doing.