Through the years I have trained or handled over 1,000 dogs in various venues. During this time I have found one thing to be certain: the average pet dog owner is extremely capable of teaching their dog to sit. Time and again, even the most obnoxious dogs will sit on command for their owner – even if it is the forth or fifth command. This phenomenon tells me one thing…that every dog owner has a great foundation for starting to teach their dog basic manners and control.

It doesn’t take hiring an overpriced animal behaviorist to begin getting some basic manners out of your pooch. If you find you are one of the many owners I’ve encountered over the years who has accomplished teaching their dog a sit…but perhaps not much else…then its time to capitalize on what your dog already knows.

Here are the rules of how to make this work.

First, try to remember that we are giving the dog a command: not a request. So to this end, if I tell my dog to sit I expect them to sit. Most owners seem content when Fido plants himself on the forth or fifth command but somehow I don’t find myself as patient.

So if you say sit (and its clear the dog has an understanding of the behavior you want and is simply choosing not to do it)…don’t repeat the command. There’s a time in every dog’s life where behavior must be enforced. So if you say sit and don’t get it the first time, by the second command you should do something to ensure you get the behavior you asked for. Whether this means you give a hand signal, a food lure, or place the dog into the desired position will depend entirely on the dog and its level of training.

Second, you need to begin using what your dog knows and communicate verbally. Often time’s owners seem to jabber on endlessly to their dogs but are never clear when they give a command.

So two points I wish to make here…. Make sure you have the dogs attention before giving a command and make sure you are giving the same command each time.

Once you have these things all in line, now you can begin doing the sit command and using it to eliminate problem behaviors. The best way to eradicate a problem behavior is to replace it with another behavior. Just like smokers who wish to quit will adopt the habit of chewing gum; so must the dog replace their bad habits with another (less annoying) habit. So if your dog is jumping excessively then every time a situation occurs where the dog will likely jump – begin asking for a sit before they have the change. Obviously if the dog is sitting, it can’t be jumping on you.

Other uses for the sit command during daily life …

                 -          Sit at doorways going in or out of the house
        
         -          Sit at street corners or automatically sit when the owner stops on walks

                 -          Sit before its fed its meal

                -          Sit before it receives petting or attention from the owner
        
         -          Sitting before the owner engages in play, such as throwing a ball
        
         -          Sit before treats are offered, such as a bone or chewy

                -          Sit when guest come to the door
        
         -          Sit before its allowed to get in or out of the car

                 -          Sit before you put the leash or collar on the dog

Using the sit command in situations such as these will ingrain the behavior even stronger in the dogs mind. It will also open up a wide variety of opportunities for the dog since its overall behavior should be improved – it should be granted access to more and more of its world.