A great starting point when it comes to canine training is to teach your dog to sit - a command that can be useful in many ways. For instance, asking your dog to sit when meeting people or other dogs makes it less likely for them to jump up and around. Also, when asking your dog to sit at curbs, crossing roads can be safer too.
However, many dog parents struggle to keep their dogs in a sitting position, with some dogs popping right back up or some refusing to sit at all. In this article, we’ll be sharing tips and fun tricks to help your dog master the command “sit”.
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How to Teach a Dog to Sit
According to Beth Bush-Kidd, canine behavior and training advisor at Battersea, dogs are able to learn through making associations, and so if something good happens when they exhibit a behavior, there’s a higher chance of them repeating it. This means that repetition is essential in helping your dog learn, increasing the likelihood of successful training outcomes. So how to teach your dog to sit exactly?
Teaching your dog to sit can be simple and effective using lure and reward training. Begin with a few tasty treats and, if helpful, a clicker to mark the moment your dog sits. For the best results, train in a quiet, distraction-free environment when your dog is calm.
Here are some tips on how to teach a dog to sit:
- Start with your dog standing, holding a treat near their nose.
- Slowly raise the treat above their head and towards their rear. As they lift their head, their back end will naturally drop into a sitting position.
- As soon as they do, click or praise and reward with the treat.
- Next, get your dog to stand again by walking away or tossing a treat. Then, repeat the steps.
- When your dog consistently follows the treat in a sitting position, fade the lure by using an empty hand and reward with a treat from your other hand. The empty hand becomes your hand signal.
- Once they reliably sit to the hand signal, add the verbal cue ("sit") before your signal. Sooner or later, your dog will respond to just the verbal cue.
- To reinforce the behavior, reward your dog whenever they choose to sit on their own. Soon, sitting will become their go-to action for earning rewards.
When it comes to how to teach a dog to sit, you might want to consider the Petcube Cam 360 as your ally in training. With the innovative device, you can closely monitor your dog during training, and use it to determine how to improve in the process. In general, it is a handy device to help monitor your dog 24/7. Not to mention, it has several other uses as well.
Hand Signal for Dog to Sit
Using hand signals during training can be greatly beneficial, whether or not your dog is deaf. As a matter of fact, Dr. Julie Buzby, integrative veterinarian, encourages using a hand signal together with the verbal cue when dog parents train their dogs.
A study in Animal Behavior on how gestures are important in communication between dogs and humans supports the stance above. In the study, where water search and rescue dogs were part of, it was found that hand signals resulted in 99% accuracy, compared to 82% with verbal commands. Even when verbal and hand signals conflicted, dogs still followed the hand signal 70% of the time, suggesting hand signals are highly effective for communication with all dogs.
In a Reddit discussion about hand signals, the author shared how she realized that her dog responds more to hand signals than just verbal commands, and that pairing both hand signal and vergal cue was very successful.
Dog Sit Hand Signal
You may use a hand signal that you prefer to go together with the verbal cue, but here is a common signal for sit that you might want to use:
Start with your palm facing up, then bend your elbow to lift your arm toward your body until it forms a 90-degree angle.
Why Can't My Dog Sit Still
Dogs struggle to generalize behaviors across different environments. A dog who only hears "stay" during meals or “sit pretty” indoors may not understand it when distractions arise. To teach "stay" or “sit pretty”, practice in various settings and break it down into small steps, focusing on a calm and focused environment.
How to Teach Your Dog to Sit Pretty
Once your dog masters the "sit" command, you may also teach the adorable "sit pretty" trick to help them sit still. Hold a treat above their head to encourage them to rise on their haunches. Gradually fade the lure by using a hand signal then adding a verbal cue, and soon your dog will be sitting pretty on command, looking irresistibly cute!
It’s normal for dogs not to understand commands at the start. And if they haven’t been trained enough yet, or even when they’ve already mastered commands, the Petcube GPS Tracker may help to ensure your dog’s safety, and help retrieve them when they happen to wander off or get lost.
Conclusion
Teaching your dog to sit is a great foundation for good behavior, whether you're meeting people, crossing streets, or just keeping them calm. Start by using lure and reward training. Guide them into the sitting position with a treat, then praise and reward. Add hand signals for clearer communication. With consistency and patience, your dog will learn to sit reliably and even master fun tricks like "sit pretty"!
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