Tag: Sit/Stay

Plan your training session 

• Pick a quiet location
• Put your dog on a tie down
• Get some of your dogs food, treats, or a toy
• Get your clicker

Training the Basics

To help your dog focus on you, keep the treats out of sight (hand behind your back or a treat pouch). Keep your dog on a leash to keep him from wandering off. Wait for your dog to sit, as soon as your dog’s butt touches the ground, click and treat (C/T). Say the release word right away. The release word should be “release” or “free”. 

When they learn that sitting gets them a click and a treat, they will be more likely to do the behavior over and over again. Repeat the first step a few times, before moving to putting this behavior on cue. 

Give it a Name

When they sit, say “sit” and mark/reward for that behavior. Then release them. Repeat this a few times before moving on. 

After the Basics

Repeat the above training session in every room of your house, in the backyard, in the front yard and at the park. Still using a tie down at each place and matching the word, “sit” when they actually sit. At the end of each training session, ask the dog to sit and see if they know the cue. Click and treat every time they sit when you say “sit”. 

Now, remove the tie down and hold the leash. Now ask for a sit and reward with a pet or belly rub. Practice sits with a brief tug of a toy or fetch of a ball. Practice sits for real life rewards: putting on the leash, before allowing your friends to pet your dog, before they get their food bowl and anything and everything your dog values, use as a reward for your dog. 

Adding the “stay” or duration

1. Ask your dog for a “sit”
2. If your dog responds correctly, pause for 1 second and then C/T. If 1 second is too long for your dog, reduce the amount of time to ½ a second. 
3. When the dog is doing well holding the sit for 1 second, gradually increase the duration, one second at a time. 
4. Once your dog can hold the sit for 5 seconds, you’ll know he’s learning the concept of patiently sustaining a behavior until you click. 
5. Once your dog can hold a sit for 5 min, you can start varying the duration. You’re going to continue to gradually increase the time they are sitting. One time you’ll do 5 sec, then 3, then 7, then 5, then 9, etc. 
6. Every once in a while throw in a “Jack-Pot”, where you give a few treats instead of 1.