How To Teach Your Dog To Sit

I have found the sit command to be one of the easiest commands to teach a dog. I used to volunteer at a local shelter where I helped to walk, train and socialize dogs housed in the shelter that were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to be adopted into a forever home. Some of these dogs seemingly had some basic obedience training and had an understanding of a few basic commands. However, there were others that seemed to have had no previous training and did not seem to understand any of the basic commands. This is unfortunate because ability to execute a command correctly can greatly increase a dog’s chance at being adopted. Countless times I had seen potential adopters walking through the shelter asking dogs to sit or lay down. Without fail they typically became excited if the dog responded with the appropriate behavior. This because these potential adopters assume a dog that already knows how to sit already has some training and will therefore transition well into their home. These potential adopters would likely be less impressed if they knew how easy it was to train a dog to sit. Nevertheless I took advantage of this propensity by teaching as many dogs in the shelter as possible to sit. Some of the dogs I worked with on a number of different occasions before they showed progress while others showed progress after only one short training session. In this article I will explain the training method I routinely used to teach dogs to sit as well as other training methods which are equally effective.

Using a treat as a lure and offering positive reinforcement is my preferred method of teaching a dog to sit. In training a dog to sit I would start out by working with the dog in short training sessions which enable the dog to maintain an interest in the training throughout the duration of the session. This helps to provide the greatest opportunity for success because the dog stays interested in the training and is capable of succeeding. I start out by holding a small but tempting treat in my hand and showing it to the dog. I then place it directly in front of his nose and move my hand, with the treat, slightly upward and backward. This causes the dog to move his head to follow the treat in a manner which naturally causes the dog to sit. As I make this hand movement, say the word, “Sit.” This word is used to give the dog a verbal cue to associate with the movement. If the use of the lure results in the dog sitting, I then give him the treat as a reward and praise him by saying, “Good sit.” Both the reward and the praise let the dog know that I am pleased with his actions. It also helps to associate the word, “Sit,” with the action of sitting. During the initial training session I may repeat the process of luring the dog and giving praise and a reward when he offers the desired behavior approximately 10-15 times for most dogs. However, some dogs may be capable of maintaining their focus for a longer period of time while other dogs may lose their focus after a shorter period of time. I determine the length of the training sessions by gauging how well the dog is responding. I may conduct a few more short training sessions with each dog during the course of the day and may then return over the course of the next few days to continue the training with a few more short training sessions each day. As the training progresses I may eliminate the luring action if I believe the dog will offer the desired behavior with only a verbal cue. However, I continue to reward and praise the dog for each correct behavior.

I do not favor the following method but I know of others who have had a great deal of success using a more hands on approach to teaching a dog to sit. Some dog owners and trainers opt to teach the sitting behavior by giving the dog the verbal command while physically pushing the dog into the desired position. This can often be accomplished by pushing downward on the dog’s rear end. I do not recommend this training method for a couple of reasons. First of all the dog may have sensitivity in the rear legs which may make him reactive to being touched in this area. Dogs who have pain in the hips or rear legs may not appreciate this type of training method. Another reason I do not like this type of training method is because it relies on physical interaction by the owner or trainer while other methods require the dog to think about he required action and perform this action on his own. This being said many owners have enjoyed a great deal of success with this type of training especially when it is combined with positive reinforcement. This means once the dog sits, the owner should offer a reward, a treat or both to let the dog know he has performed a desired behavior.