Teaching how to train a dog to sit is not as hard as you may have thought it would be. Puppies as small as six weeks old can quickly catch on to the sitting concept, and even older dogs with little mobility issues can learn how to sit if asked. For very high-energy or bouncy dogs and puppies, however, the catching method described further below most often works best.
This method works best for puppies who are still being trained on basic commands such as “sit.” Training puppies not to jump up on people and other dogs is harder than training adult dogs. Adult dogs are already distracted by all of their smells, sounds, and feelings, so they don’t often see why a puppy jumps on them. By distracting the puppy with another activity, such as moving around in circles, you train the dog to stop jumping up.
One great thing about using positive reinforcement in how to train a dog to sit is that it teaches your dog to trust you. Positive reinforcement does not mean punishment, it means rewarding the dog’s good behavior. As I mentioned earlier, you teach the dog the behavior by repeating the word “sit” over to them. You want to focus on the dog’s behavior, not the words themselves. Praise them for good behavior and they will continue to act well.
To start, give your dog the command to sit and then repeat the word “sit” in your dog’s ear while giving verbal praise. You want to use the same voice cue (either use your own voice or the voice of your instructor) to repeat the command over. This way, your dog will understand that sitting has to be done consistently every time.
For this next part, I recommend using treats in addition to or instead of positive reinforcement. The goal here is to get the dog to understand the sit position is to stay quiet. That means not barking. Dogs are naturally very active and noisy, especially when excited. So, you should never use a treat to distract them from barking. If you do, you will only be teaching them to bark at things that cause them no problems – your voice and your scent.
The next step is to take your dog into a quiet place where you can have them sit. Put them down and repeat the word “sit” while giving your dog a treat. When they start to stand still, click the clicker and give them a treat. Repeat this step until they have learned the sit command and are sitting calmly without barking.
After learning to sit with one hand and standing quietly while receiving treats, you will want to move on to using praise as a training method. Use the same treats and say “sit” in a calm voice while giving them the praise. They must listen to you in order for this to work. They will eventually walk away, but you want to praise them every time they do it. Once they learn to do this consistently, you can add in other training sessions with treats and praise.
Finally, you will want to teach them to release word. This is very important when teaching any new skill, especially when it comes to commands. The release word is taught through clicking. When they sit, give them the release word and then immediately click in their mouth when they release it. As they get better with using the release word, they will be able to click on their own.