How to teach your dog to sit

When you want to train your dog, the "sit" is one of the first exercises to work on. It will be used to learn to "lie down" or "recall".

This is a relatively easy command to teach your dog and can be done in as little as 15 minutes a day. It is true that it is quite rare to see dogs that do not respond to "sit".

But when you don't know how, teaching your dog to sit can be a real headache. Unless you follow a proven and effective method!

 

Why train a dog to sit?

Teaching your dog to "sit" can be useful in several situations. The first reason is that you can use this training to teach other commands. If your dog does not master it, it will be difficult to teach him to lie down for example.

The sit command also allows you to channel your dog in specific situations. This is especially the case when you have people over. The fact that he is sitting and that he stays there will prevent him from jumping on your guests for example.

Teaching your dog to sit can also be useful in an enclosed space with other people, such as an elevator. It will also allow him to wait quietly for example to cross a street until you give him the order to cross.

And last but not least, when you have a dog, you are often proud to show your family and friends that your dog obeys and the fact that he sits is often touching for others.

How to teach your puppy to sit can be done passively. In fact, you wait for the puppy to sit on his own. When he does, you say "sit" and congratulate him. You will see that he will quickly associate the "sit" and the reward with this command.

This method takes time and requires you to be attentive to watch when he sits. But don't spend hours watching your puppy and waiting for him to sit.

 

Our tip: When you're playing with him and you go to throw him a ball, for example, you'll find that he'll naturally sit up and follow your lead. At that moment, take advantage of the situation to say "sit" before throwing the ball. He will assimilate his position with the command.

With this method, you must be careful not to give the sit command too early, i.e. before he does it, or too late, i.e. after he is sitting.

You've probably noticed that your pet, when he lifts his head back, will sit up on his own. He does it naturally to keep his balance. And so much the better, this reflex is a great help to teach your dog to sit.

Take a treat or kibble and hold your hand over his nose. You'll see that your dog will automatically raise his head to look at it. Point your hand at your dog's rump. To see it, he will have to lift his head back and sit. You'll find that dogs will sit by instinct every time you give them this exercise. They will never turn around.

All you have to do now is tell him to sit as he sits. Don't forget to give him his reward. It doesn't have to be a treat. You can do the exercise with his favorite toy for example. Repeat the process several times.

The next step is very simple. You remove the treat or toy and simply raise your finger above his head. When he starts to sit, give him the sit command and, most importantly, praise him with playful words and petting.

The last step is to tell him to sit without having to put his head back. This step may take some time. When it's time for the sit command to work, praise him. And congratulate yourself too, you've just trained your dog to sit when you ask!

 

 

Mistakes not to make

To make sure everything goes smoothly, avoid these few mistakes:

• Never press on the dog's rump to make it sit. The first reason is that you never use force to train a dog and the second reason is that you may hurt him.
• Don't be impatient. Even though it takes a short time to teach your dog to sit, some animals take longer than others and getting angry or yelling the word "sit" at him 100 times is not helpful.
• If your dog is the type to jump on the treat instead of lifting his head and sitting, try to get him to lift with your hand and touch his hind leg joint. This will make him sit automatically.
• Don't do training sessions too long and too often. 2 to 3 times a day is enough.

 

Conclusion

Teaching your dog to sit is really not that complicated compared to recall for example. But some dogs can be very stubborn. The only solution is patience and perseverance.

For the most docile, whether with the passive or active method, you will see that in a few sessions your dog will sit still at your side.