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.

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