For a very good guide to all sorts of dog training processes and dog behavior challenges, I use and recommend Clickertraining ...that link goes to the description of this terrific ebook you download immediately, wherever you are! -- Rosana

Teaching the Sit with a Lure and a Clicker

This dog training tip uses clicker training methods. if you aren’t familiar with clickers, you can get a free copy of my ebook Seven Steps to Clicker Training Success with Your Dog by subscribing to my weekly email newsletter. The link takes you to the page where you can find out more and sign up if you wish.

Put a clicker in one hand and a small treat in the other. For most dogs, the treat can simply be a piece of their dry kibble.

You and your dog or puppy should be alone in a place without distractions such as other dogs or people. Indoors is generally less distracting than outside, but a quiet yard is fine. You want enough room that you and the dog can move around.

You also want to be where you have a small container of the treats out of reach of the dog, so you can grab another one easily.

Your dog should be standing up or walking around as you begin this process. Show him the treat in your hand, close enough that he can smell it and at about eye level. He may move forward to sniff it or he may just watch you. In any case, raise that hand with the treat up higher than his head and back over his head… so he has to sit in order to keep watching you.

The very instant that his rear touches the ground or floor, click the clicker. Then open your luring hand – that’s the one with the food — and let him take the treat from your outstretched palm. (This is a much safer method for your fingers than giving him the treat right from your fingers! I always give treats from my palm.)

Now, what if the dog doesn’t sit when you try this? What if he jumps up for the treat,  moves away as you raise the treat, or does something else? You don’t click or reward because he hasn’t done what you want. You can say something like “Too bad!” if you want to, or just say nothing. Then create a bit of a timeout, for example, turn around or just stand looking out at nothing for a few seconds. Then try again. Normally, dogs get the sit quite quickly, as it comes naturally to them to sit in order to see the treat. If you still have trouble after a try or two, be sure you are moving the treat in a way that would naturally make the dog move into a sit.

After the treat has been consumed, walk to a different place in the room and repeat the process. Do this quite a few  times in a session, but I wouldn’t go more than about 10 minutes, and only 2 or 3 minutes for young puppies. You can do several sessions a day. 

Dogwise, an online bookstore and publisher, is a sort of Amazon for dogs. With their fingers on the pulse of what dog books people are buying, they are in a good position to predict trends. But several books surprised them in 2008 by selling well. Here is their list of four surprises. Since a Basenji owned us for her ten years of life, I love the cover of the first book.

By the way, here’s something that was no surprise to them: their dog breed calendars for 2009 are in and are the hottest items! In fact, they suggest you order sooner rather than later as they aren’t sure they will be able to get all of them closer to Christmas.

Through a Dog’s Ear by Joshua Leeds and Susan Wagner. Using sound to improve the health and behavior of your dog, The book includes a CD, and two separate CDs can be purchased as well.

You know that your dog’s hearing is very sensitive, but did you know that you could create an environment of sound to improve the health and well being of your canine companion? Now, psychoacoustic expert Joshua Leeds and veterinary neurologist Susan Wagner show you how with Through a Dog’s Ear. Using the latest science on how dogs hear and react to sound, Leeds and Wagner bring you a treasury of practical tools for enhancing the lives of our best friends—including a CD of music demonstrated in clinical trials to calm 70 percent of dogs in kennels and 85 percent in households. Join these two innovators for fresh insights on the inner auditory life of your dog, featuring:
• How to use sound as a tool to help alleviate separation anxiety, excitement with visitors, thunderstorm panic, and other behavior challenges • For nervous dogs: tips and tricks for making any house or apartment more comfortable for canines • Keys to understanding how our dogs hear the human world—including orienting responses, sensory confusion, and over– and under–stimulation • Accompanying CD includes 45 minutes of classical music psychoacoustically designed to soothe and calm dogs—and their human companions.

  Pet Food Politics by Marion Nestle. The inside story on the pet food industry and what you need to watch for as a consumer.

Marion Nestle, acclaimed author of “Food Politics, “now tells the gripping story of how, in early 2007, a few telephone calls about sick cats set off the largest recall of consumer products in U.S. history and an international crisis over the safety of imported goods ranging from food to toothpaste, tires, and toys. Nestle follows the trail of tainted pet food ingredients back to their source in China and along the supply chain to their introduction into feed for pigs, chickens, and fish in the United States, Canada, and other countries throughout the world. What begins as a problem “merely” for cats and dogs soon becomes an issue of tremendous concern to everyone. Nestle uncovers unexpected connections among the food supplies for pets, farm animals, and people and identifies glaring gaps in the global oversight of food safety.

“Pet Food Politics” is a first class example of investigative journalism exposing one of the challenges of globalization of our food supply. It’s required reading for anyone who wants to understand the implications of globalization and the importance of quality control in all our food.”–Allen M. Schoen, MS, DVM, author of “Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way We Live”

The Dog Aggression Workbook by James O’Heare. This Workbook is an interactive guide for guardians of dogs who behave aggressively. The workbook presents a systematic and highly efficient and effective, positive reinforcement-based approach to understanding, assessing and changing aggressive behaviors in dogs.

Strategies and techniques are described clearly and completely in a conversational style that is easy to read and understand. Guardians will be armed with the tools they need to address all kinds of aggressive behavior problems, while avoiding harsh punitive techniques. The workbook utilizes a behavioral approach, focusing on identifying specific problem behaviors, what evokes them and what consequences are maintaining them. It explains how to implement desensitization and behavior replacement procedures to change emotional responses and the aggressive behaviors they motivate. Taking a global and comprehensive approach, it addresses the whole context in which aggressive behaviors are performed.

The Dog Aggression Workbook will be a useful compliment for Aggressive Behavior in Dogs, a manual written for professional behavior consultants as a means of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of professional consultation. Short and inexpensive, it would make a useful adjunct to consultation.

101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance. There are lots of books out there on tricks, but the great photos and clear step-by-step instructions has really set this book apart.

“101 Dog Tricks” is the largest trick book on the market and the only one presenting full-color photos of each trick and its training steps. The step-by-step approach, difficulty rating, and prerequisites, allow readers to start training immediately.

Tips, and trouble-shooting boxes cover common problems, while “build-on” ideas suggest more complicated tricks which build on each new skill.

No special tools (such as clickers) or knowledge of specific training methods are required. Featuring step-by-step photos of every trick in the book.
Trick training is a great way to bond with your dog and help him integrate into your family. It keeps him mentally and physically challenged and helps to establish paths of communication between you.

Many tricks build skills needed for common dog sports, dog dancing, and dog therapy work.

The sit is  good for a first thing to teach your puppy or dog, so in this series of dog training tips I’m making it one of the first topics.

Why start with the sit? Here are five reasons.

1. It’s easy to teach a dog.
2. You’ll be using it with the other commands.
3. Even very young puppies can understand it.
4. It’s important for good manners with people.
5. It’s the thing my dogs do when they want to please me and aren’t sure what to do, and this can be very convenient.

If your dog already sits, you may get some ideas for how to improve the process.

Teaching the Sit

Put a small treat in in one hand. For most dogs, the treat can simply be a piece of their dry food. You and your dog or puppy should be alone in a place without distractions. Indoors is generally less distracting than outside, but a quiet yard is fine. You want enough space that you and the dog can move around a little.

You also want to be where you have a small container of the treats out of reach of the dog, so you can grab another one easily. Do this at a time of day when the dog hasn’t just been fed.

Your dog should be standing up or walking around as you begin this process. Show him the treat in your hand, close enough that he can smell it and at about eye level. He may move forward to sniff it or he may just watch you. In any case, raise that hand with the treat up higher than his head and back over his head… so he has to sit in order to keep watching you.

The very instant that the dog’s rear touches the ground or floor, say “Good!” and open your hand. Let him take the treat from your outstretched palm. (This is a much safer method for your fingers than giving him the treat right from your fingers! I always give treats from my palm. This point could be a dog training tip in itself.)

Now, what if the dog doesn’t sit when you try this? What if he jumps up for the treat,  moves away as you raise the treat, or does something else? You can say something like “Too bad!” if you want to, or just say nothing. Then create a bit of a pause, for example, turn around or just stand looking out at nothing for a few seconds. Then try again. Normally, dogs get the sit quite quickly, as it comes naturally to them to sit in order to see the treat. If you still have trouble after a try or two, be sure you are moving the treat in a way that would naturally make the dog move into a sit.

After the treat has been consumed, walk to a different place in the room and repeat the process. Do this several  times in a session, but I wouldn’t go more than about 10 minutes, and only 2 or 3 minutes for young puppies. You can do several sessions a day.  

In the next two dog training tips, I’ll cover some ways the sit is used and how to train it with a clicker.

I love the dog training revolution that is bringing more and more dog trainers and dog owners to use positive, pain-free methods. This is part of a movement that can be traced back over twenty years to several innovative dog trainers. One of them is Dr. Ian Dunbar, veterinarian, dog behavior researcher, creator of numerous dog training books and programs, founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and more. I often quote him on this site.

Not today. This time, it’s his wife, top trainer Kelly Dunbar, who I am going to quote.

One of my favorite positive dog training sites to browse is Dog Star Daily, where Kelly Dunbar is the executive editor. It has blogs by a lot of really top trainers, where you get a sense of their lives working with all sorts of dogs and dog behaviors. I also like the huge selection of free dog videos, mostly on training, made by anyone who wants to submit one. Someone there does review them before they go up; you can see my video on how I make dog food using Dr. Pitcairn’s recipes there.

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