Teach Your Dog The Sit Command

Teaching your dog the sit command is the cornerstone of good dog behavior. Here's how to teach the sit command so your dog performs it time and time again.

Most dogs have a rudimentary idea of what "sit" means, but your dog can learn to sit not just when he feels like it, or when your voice is so shrill on the third command that he thinks you must finally really mean it.

If your dog has never been trained to sit at all, it's easy to start. Put a very small, very good-tasting treat in your hand. Hold your closed hand just above his nose. As he noses up, move your hand slightly up and slightly back -- you'll see he starts to shift his weight back towards his haunches. If you can find the right spot for your hand, just above his nose, soon his back end will drop and he'll be sitting. Now open your hand and let him have the treat from your open hand and say "Good dog!" enthusiastically. Repeat this several times. Once he's got the idea of following your hand into a sitting position, start commanding "sit!" as you first put your hand above his nose. With practice, you'll be able to stop moving your hand around and he'll sit on the verbal command alone. Always reward with a tiny, tasty treat and lots of enthusiastic verbal praise.

If your dog vaguely knows about "sit", here's how to teach him to do it promptly and on your first command. Have that very tiny, very tasty treat in your hand. With your dog somewhere in the vicinity, say in a quiet yet confident voice "your dog, sit!" If he does, reward him immediately by slipping him that treat and saying "Good dog!" in your happiest voice. But, what should you do if he still doesn't sit? Do nothing! No second chances, no repeating the command in case he didn't hear you (he heard you-- he just chose to ignore you!), do nothing. Just begin to walk away. Now, being a dog, with a sense of smell at least 400 times greater than your own, he knows you have that itty bitty tasty treat, and he'll shortly come nosing around to get it. When he does, repeat your quiet, confident command "your dog, sit!" If he sits, reward him as described above. If he doesn't, once again do nothing. There is no punishment in this training plan, but the only way he can get the reward of that treat is to sit promptly on your first command. If he continues to ignore you, stop this training session and try again 15 minutes later.

Do this 10-15 times a day. Most dogs get the idea quickly, and you'll be surprised and pleased with how attentive your dog becomes when shouting is no longer part of the process. As he gets better at sitting on command, you can begin "forgetting" to give the food treat and concentrate on verbal praise. If he doesn't know whether or not he's going to get the treat, his performance will actually improve! As time goes on, you should be rewarding him with treats less and less, and with your words (high-pitched and enthusiastic) more and more.

There are a few dogs for which this training method is not enough -- the really rowdy or really spoiled dogs may need the help of a few other (equally humane) techniques. If you need more help, using a Gentle Leader head collar is a terrific approach for gaining control of your dog, and getting his attention.