Sit is usually one of the first commands a dog learns. It is easy for a dog to learn, and is a natural behavior so it’s no wonder it’s the most popular obedience command. You can teach your dog to sit many different ways including luring, shaping, molding, and capturing. This article will focus on the luring method as it is generally the most common and also lays the groundwork for other behaviors that are done through luring later on.
To begin, you are going to need your dog on a leash, a treat pouch or apron with treats, and be in a distraction free and familiar environment. If your dog isn’t very food motivated it is a good idea to do this before a meal, or use their meal as the training treats. If your dog isn’t already, you need to get his attention and focus on you. This is usually pretty easy to do with treats. Just wave a treat, kibble, etc. past their nose and
give them a couple pieces for free. If your dog still isn’t very interested in staying still, or
wants to wander off, just step on or hold the leash so they can’t get away.
STEPS FOR LURING A DOG INTO A SIT
● Take a small piece of kibble, or a small training treat and hold it up to your
dogs nose and let them smell it, but don’t let them have it. If you’re pup is
particularly mouthy it can help to hold the treat in between your thumb and
palm, where your thumb meets your palm. Squeeze it in place and slightly
cup your hand so your dog can’t grab it.
● As they are smelling the food, slowly raise your hand up and slightly back
towards their hind end.
● The further back you move your hand towards their back end, the more
they have to bend their neck to keep smelling it. Eventually the only way
they can keep the food at their nose is to sit. If they do not sit right away,
just hold your hand there for a second or two.
● As soon as their butt hits the ground mark that behavior with a happy
“YES!” or with your clicker and give them the treat/food.
● Once they have the food in their mouth, immediately say “FREE!” or
“BREAK!” or whatever word you choose, and toss a small piece of food on
the ground about 4 feet away from them so they have to get up to go get
it. This is your release marker, and lets them know they are finished.
Chances are your dog doesn’t know “Stay” yet, and although they don’t know what your release marker actually means yet they will catch on over time if you’re consistent. Just make sure you give them the release word immediately so that way they can’t screw up and not listen. That wouldn’t
be fair.
● Now just repeat the steps and continue doing this for about 10 minutes. It
is best to do this 2-3 times throughout the day, or even sprinkle in 1 or 2
reps before meals, or just randomly.
● Don’t expect your dog to be able to do this in a high distraction
environment yet. You need to do lots of reps in this low distraction
environment first and then slowly increase the difficulty/distractions.
FADING THE LURE
Eventually you will find that your dog begins anticipating what you are doing as
soon as you place the food to his or her nose and begin raising your hand. After about
a day or two doing the full luring movement you want to begin “Fading the Lure”. This
means that you just do less of the luring movement, usually by ending it early and not
moving your hand as far up, or as far towards their rear. You want to keep fading, or
shortening your hand movement, the lure, until your dog is basically sitting as soon as
you start bringing your hand towards their nose.
TEACH THE WORD “SIT”
You may have noticed that up to this point we have not actually been saying the
word “Sit”. You don’t want to use any command until your dog has mastered the
movement or behavior through other methods. Or as the famous trainer Michael Ellis
says, “Don’t name it until you love it”.
Once you “love it”, it is time to attach a word to the behavior. “Sit” is pretty much
the unanimous command used. Some people, for various reasons, also choose to use
a different language but it is still the word “Sit”. By now your dog should be anticipating
the lure fully and sitting quickly as soon as you begin bringing a treat towards their nose.
You are going to keep doing this, however before you make any movements you’re
going to give your verbal command. As soon as you finish saying the word follow
through with your lure. Make sure you do not overlap the verbal, and the lure. Dogs will
always focus on movement more than sound so if you say something and do something
simultaneously your pup will barely comprehend the fact that you are saying anything.
This will prolong your dog learning the verbal command greatly. Continue in this fashion
until you find that your dog is sitting from the verbal command, and the lure is
unnecessary. This usually takes about 30 repetitions, but can vary. If your dog
happens to not respond to the verbal cue after doing so many times, don’t worry, just follow through with the lure and give them a reminder. They are still learning and need some help once in awhile.
HOW TO PROGRESS
Now it’s time to take the show on the road, literally. Once your dog is
consistently responding to your verbal cue, you can begin making it harder by doing this
in busier areas of your house, in the yard, or on walks. Just remember to progress
slowly. Don’t expect to be able to do this in a crowded park, or around other dogs
immediately. In each new environment, take a step backwards and progress from
there. Do a few repetitions or even a whole session with just the lure. Read your dog
and see what they are ready for. If you hit a sticking point or they seem to be
regressing, go back to your original setting for a session or two. If you need help with any of this as always, consult your trainer for guidance. If you do not yet have a trainer, Engaged K9’s has many training packages available including virtual lessons. You can find our training packages here.
Obedience training is a marathon, not a sprint. If you try to progress too quickly
or skip steps you may get some results, but you won’t get the 100% reliability you may
need one day when safety of you or your dog is at stake. Take it slow, and most
importantly make it fun for you and your dog. This isn’t just about teaching your dog to
listen to you, it is also a time to bond with and learn to communicate with your dog.
Over time you will see your relationship with your dog change through doing obedience
training. You will both understand and be able to communicate with each other more
thoroughly and effectively as your dog begins to understand you more, and a vice
versa. Remember, even the highest trained service, military, and police dogs once
began with this simple and effective routine!
