Why Teach a Dog to Sit?

Teaching your dog to sit is the single most important obedience command. It improves his overall obedience and control. Automatic sits are the foundation of advanced obedience work, whether you want a competition dog or a well mannered pet. And most dogs will learn this in five minutes.

At an acquaintance's home, I was met by a frantically barking little dog who jumped all over me the minute the door opened. When I took my shoes off by the front door, he peed on them. (I am not making this up.) His owners tsk tsked and cooed at their naughty little darling. While we sat chatting on the couch, he barked incessantly. In response, his owners constantly fed him treats so he would shut up for just a second. When I picked up a treat and asked him to sit, he leapt even higher and tried to grab it from my hand. "Oh, we've never taught Sparky tricks" the owner shouted over the shrill yapping.

No kidding. "Sit" is not a trick, it is the foundation of good dog manners.

Sitting is Control

We're not just talking about you being in control of your dog, but your dog having self-control. Why is this important? Consider Sparky, who had never been taught anything. Dogs live very much in the moment. They see food, their natural inclination is to lunge for it. (They are hunters and carnivores at heart.) They see an open door inviting them to run right through it. Squirrels? Bark and chase! Visitors to the home are enthusiastically jumped upon- many dogs are compulsive greeters. If so inclined, they may mark a visitor's shoes. Sparky was not a bad dog, he was just a completely untrained one, weakly bonded to his owners, feeling entitled to blow them off whenever he felt like it.

Much of what we train is teaching a dog to temper their natural instincts. A completely untrained dog will grab food out of your hand, race through doors without regard to what is on the other side, jerk your arm out of the socket charging after squirrels or other dogs and leap all over anyone walking in the door. Clearly, this is not how we want the family dog to behave.

Your dog can do none of these things if he is sitting down. Most dogs turned in to shelters have not been trained. Once they get out of the adorable puppy stage and become unruly adults, those too lazy to start working with the dog often find it more convenient to dump them at the shelter. Dogs love their leaders and naturally follow our direction. Helping your dog learn self control also teaches him to look up to you.

Whether puppy or adult, any dog can be taught manners and it all begins with the sit.

Teach a Dog to Sit.

You are teaching your dog an action, not a position. The action is, "lower your butt to the ground until you are sitting." Even a reliably trained dog will not understand the sit command from a down position that has to be taught separately. So let's teach your dog to lower his butt to the ground. You can use treats, but most dogs will follow your hand without the use of a lure.

With your dog standing, get his attention, say his name. Close your hand into a fist and move it over his head towards his rump. His nose will follow your hand and his butt should start lowering. As his butt starts to go down, tell him "Sparky, sit!" The minute his butt hits the ground, praise him lavishly.

If he starts backing up instead of sitting, rest your hand on his rump with just enough pressure to start him sitting down.

Do this a few times a day. Make him sit for any treats, and right before you set down his food dish. Eventually he will start doing it automatically.

It is just as important to teach him a release word so he knows when to stop doing what you've just told him to do. Start out by getting him to sit for just a few seconds at a time, then say OK! Or whatever you choose as a release word. Gradually lengthen the time. When he gets reliable, you can have him sit and stay when guests come to the door, before going out for a walk, at every meal time. He is not merely learning to sit, he is learning to take direction from you and gaining self control at the same time.

Don't let your dog turn into Sparky!