Learning how to teach a dog to sit can be a challenge for some dog lovers. After all, it is a natural behavior for dogs to lie down when they are trained. But there are many dog training tricks that can be used in teaching your dog to sit. Teaching your dog to sit, can be one of the most beneficial things you can do with him or her.
The very first thing you need to do when teaching your dog how to sit is to establish its comfort zone. Your dog will have a natural tendency to lie down when it feels calm and relaxed. The initial step is to make sure the dog is comfortable sitting at one end of the home. You can do this by placing the dog’s weight on its forelegs while putting another treat on its nose. Once the dog is settled, give it the treat, and wait for him to sit.
This may sound very simple, but many dog owners forget about the “release cue.” A release cue is a small stick you can use to give the dog a release command whenever it becomes uncomfortable or wants to lie down. You can either use the “sit” release cue or the “down” release cue. Using the sit release cue, you give the dog the command to sit. As soon as the dog sits, give it the treat. Continue doing this until the dog relaxes.
To start training your puppy, you will want to hold the leash and walk the puppy from the house to the kitchen while you prepare its meal. When the puppy arrives at the kitchen, praise it enthusiastically and attach the leash again. It may take a couple of days before the puppy can be alone without you taking it for a walk and making it perform any commands.
During the first couple of days of the dog’s training, you may have to sit on the floor with the puppy in your lap. You should do this several times until the puppy becomes familiar with this sitting position. Then you should begin adding different treats to the dog’s meal to make sure it stays interested in the meal. For example, if you feed the dog a chicken bone, you could slowly add the treat to the dog’s meal, instead of all at once.
After a few days of training, you can remove the treat but continue to feed the dog a chicken bone or another treat. You should continue to place the dog’s food in its dish while you give it praise each time it obeys your command. After a few weeks of practice, the puppy will sit on its own and you will no longer need to place the dog’s food in its dish.
During the last part of training a dog to sit, you should be ready to demonstrate some of the dog’s obedience skills. To make the lesson easier, you should use a clicker. For this part of the training, you will have to click the dog with your clicker whenever it begins to sit on command. Click the clicker again if the dog doesn’t sit down on its own. You should repeat this step a few times, until the dog understands that it should sit before getting the treat. It may take a few trials before the dog learns to sit without the click.
The final part of teaching a dog to sit is to release the treat when the dog sits. You should begin by putting your palm against the dog’s chest. With your clicker in hand, you should click the dog and then quickly release the treat. Repeat this step until the dog has learned that when it sits, it gets a treat. As the dog begins to understand what to expect from this part of the training, you can begin adding other commands, such as down or stay.
