Teach or train your dog to sit

You can do a great deal to teach your dog to sit even before formal training begins. Whenever you see that your dog is about to sit, say, “sit”. The secret to doing this effectively is in the timing. You must give the command to sit as soon as you see that your puppy or dog is about to sit. If you observe your dog you will soon pick up tell tale signs that will tell you that the dog is about to sit. If the dog has already sat, then giving the command will not be effective. Ensure that when you do give the command that you do not shout or act excitedly. Over do it, and you may distract your dog from sitting, and that won't help either.

Whenever you give your dog any command, it is a good idea to use his name before the command, e.g. "Duke, sit". This serves to attract his attention when he recognises his name.A treat can also be a great aid in teaching your dog to sit. You can use this method with or without your dog on a lead. If you need control over your dog have him on a lead, if not, then try without the lead.Move a few feet from the dog, turn to face him. Show him the treat in your right hand, (the lead would be in your left hand if you are using one) Command your dog to come, as he approaches and is quite close to you, (almost at your feet) move your hand with the treat over his head towards the back of his head. Your dog will naturally keep his eyes fixed on the treat. Moving it above and behind his head will cause the dog to sit. As soon as you see that he is about to sit, (you will see his back legs begin to bend) say, “sit”.If your dog doesn't get the idea that he needs to sit, you can help the process with gentle hand pressure on his rump. Never use force though, just gentle pressure.

As soon as you feel that your dog has got the idea introduce a hand signal with the command sit. This is slightly more difficult, as, because of the hand signal, you will have to dispense with the moving of the treat above the dog's head to encourage him to sit.However if you have done a good job with the previous training you will find that it will no longer be necessary. Your dog will sit simply because he wants the treat as reward and he knows that he needs to sit to receive it. Standing in front of your dog, command him to sit at the same time show the hand signal.What hand signal you use is a matter of preference. I move my right hand in the shape of a fist but with the index finger pointing out. My hand is held in front of my chest, which is above my dog's head height. The index finger is pointed out at a 45 degree angle with the horizontal.Extend the dog's training so that he will respond to the sit command with the hand signal only. This is really a lot easier than it seems and requires only a little further training. If you feel that you will need more help to train your dog or puppy, there is a book that I wholeheartedly recommend. What I like about this book is that it also gives you access to a very good forum. If you are having any problems that the book does not solve you can always ask for free expert advice at the forum.