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March 30th
We’ve all walked through parks and envied those people who can make their dog follow their every command.
But teaching your puppy to sit doesn’t have to be struggle. You just need to have the right training regimen and stick to it.
Here, we’ll walk you through some simple steps on how you can finally get your puppy to sit.
1. Find a quiet place to work without any disturbances
You’ll need to find a place where your dog won’t immediately be distracted. Open areas are good, so long as they don’t have too many animals or people around.
2. Tell your dog to sit
They aren’t going to behave right away. But this is how you can begin to get them to recognize the command. Take a treat and hold it close to their nose, lowering it slowly to the ground as you say “sit.”
3. Reward them if they get it, and be patient if the don’t
Once you’ve tried to lure them with a treat, see if your dog obeys. If they immediately sit or lie down, reward them with the treat and a lot of praise. If they don’t, hold the treat on the ground and keep encouraging them.
4. Repeat, repeat, repeat
Even if your pup gets it the first time round, you’re going to want to keep practicing. And try to be consistent. Only give them the treat when they do as you say. Otherwise you will confuse them and they won’t know how to respond to your commands.
5. Make them sit longer
Once you’ve gotten the basics down, make it a bit more challenging. Try to get them to stay in place for longer. If they can sit for five seconds, try to make it ten. Gradually increase the time until they can sit indefinitely.
6. Add some distance, and distractions
Now that your puppy can sit on command for as long as you want them to, try to command them from afar. This will give you more control of your dog, and make them more trustworthy off leash.
And add in distractions. Bring some of their favorite foods or toys and scatter them around you. Or, if you trust your dog, you can try this at a park, where there are plenty of other people and animals around.
This may take some practice, but eventually you’ll be able to get your dog to hold a sit even in the busiest places.
Teaching your dog commands is tricky, even when it’s something simple like “sit.” But don’t give up! It takes time, especially if you want your dog to be consistent.
And one of the worst things you can do when training your dog is to get frustrated. Dogs respond strongly to body language and tone. Be encouraging and reward good behavior. When they don’t do what you say, be stern but not angry. This will help you build trust with your puppy, which will speed up the training process.
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