Teaching our dog the "SIT"...
In competitive obedience, there are some trainers
that suggest teaching the Sit (and Down) as one
of the last things before going to an obedience
trial. Their reasoning is based on the observation
that most dogs that have learned these commands
early on don't show Sit or Down with the speed
and enthusiasm that a trial judge would want to
see. While I agree with their observation, I don't
agree that this is a product of starting to train
these behaviors too early. If you read through
my Fundamentals chapter, you might remember that I suggested to
keep training sessions short and to give your
dog a break once he understands what the command
means. Don't over-train and always make sure your
dog has fun - the result will be a dog that happily
follows your commands at all (most) times.
Getting to Sit in a few simple steps:
Step 1 |
Get your treats and your clicker (in case
you use one of those).
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Step 2 |
Make sure your dog can focus exclusively
on you and avoid any disturbance.
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Step
3 |
Step calmly in front of your dog with the
treat in your hand.
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Step
4 |
In one motion, move your fingers with the
treat to his nose so he can smell the treat
and continue on to move your finger closely
from the tip of his nose over his mouth
and head towards his ears. Most dogs will
follow your finger's (yummy treat's) movement
and get into the Sit position because this
allows them to move their head further back
than while standing.
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Step
5 |
When your dog sits down, mark the behavior
(Click or "Yes"), feed the treat to your
dog and praise him. Voila!
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Step
6 |
If you and your dog are doing a good job,
he should soon volunteer the sit position
without your hand motion so he can get his
treat a bit faster. Once he is at that point,
you can introduce the spoken Sit command.
Speak the Sit command in a friendly and
encouraging manner every time your dog starts
to get into the sit position.
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Step
7 |
Once your dog understands the spoken command,
he will start to go into the Sit position
once you say it.
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What if ?
Q: What if my dog moves backward instead of sitting
down?
A: Try to practice with your dogs back close
to a wall, corner or furniture so he can not easily
move backwards (leave enough room for him to sit
though). Each time your dog tries to take a step
back, pull your hand away from him again to elicit
him to get closer to you again.
Q: What if my dog does not try to follow the
treat?
A: Make sure he is hungry enough - and get a
tastier treat! |