How to Teach Dog Sit

Here are 5 easy steps to teach dog sit. Concentrate on your dog's head because when you control the head, the body follows.

1. Stand straight in front of your dog.
2. Hold a treat in your fingers close to your dog's nose.
3. Say the command "Sit."
4. Move the treat slowly back over his head. As he watches the treat go over his head, his rear end should naturally go down.
5. Immediately praise him and give him a treat. If he remains in that position, give him a release word, like "okay," "release," or "all done."

Problem Solving

• Refusing to sit down. If your dog will not sit for a food reward, kneel down and hold his collar with one hand while using the other hand to tuck under his back legs into a sitting position. Give the command " Sit" as your do this. Reward with praise.
• Dog jumps up for treat instead of sitting. You may be holding the treat too high causing your dog to jump up to grab it. Hold the treat closer to your dog's nose.

Reinforcing Sit Command

• Initially give food rewards and praise, but gradually reduce the treats. Eventually, your words of praise will be sufficient reward for your dog.
• After your dog reliably sits in front of you in response to the command, have him sit in different locations. For example, command him to sit when he is to your left, right, behind you, and across the room from you.
• Increase the distractions gradually. If you started off in a small room in your house, move to the yard, then a park.
• Practice the sit command frequently throughout the day. You can easily incorporate the command into your daily routine by having your dog sit before each meal and before going out for walks.

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