Teaching your puppy to sit

Teaching your Puppy to Sit

Teaching your puppy to sit is a vital part of puppy life, I consider this the start of every trick learnt. This is really quite simple with most dogs, but what people tend to misunderstand is that dogs do not understand English. So the word “sit” to them, literally means nothing and you cannot expect them to comprehend it by repetition of the word alone. I have worked with many dogs and some do not respond to treats, but respond very well to affection so please keep this in mind.

When your dog is standing on all fours (not jumping up) hold a treat in your hand, make sure the dog cannot see the treat. Let your dog sniff your hand so he knows what is up for grabs! With a firm but friendly voice pronounce sit and guide your hand over there head and stop when it is directly above. Your dogs nose should follow the treat and in hand the further back their head goes the closer they will get to sitting. As soon as their bottom hits the floor reward your dog with a treat, love, affection. The more you do this the more your dog will realise that the word sit goes with the action of sitting and therefore the less movement you will have to do. Eventually after repetition, you will simply be able to say sit and your dog will respond very quickly.

Please remember, when you try this for the first time without treats be sure to give your dog some affection, so they don’t think it was all for nothing ☺ . Also keep in mind the amount of treats given, you don’t want your dog gaining weight whilst learning.

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