Today’s topic is Improving Your Dog’s Sit: 5 ways to make it easier than ever! Is your dog very hesitant in sitting when you tell them to? Well, great news. I will show you five ways to improve your dog’s sit to make it even better than ever.
Association
Okay, let’s get into tip number one in improving your dog’s sit is associate your sit command directly to your dog’s favorite reward. This very subtle technique uses the most direct association you can make between any two things. So, all you’re doing is giving your dog a dopamine dump for just merely hearing the voice cue. If you have a super stubborn dog, this technique will help you immensely increase the value of your verbal sit cue. I’d recommend doing ten repetitions, twice daily, with your dog’s favorite food reward for the next three days to get a good head start.
Paw Raising
Tip number two, how to deal with dogs that raise their paws. Suppose you have a dog that raises its paws but won’t sit when you are luring them. Please start the process of feeding them when they only have all four paws on the ground. This way, your dog will see that their paws on the ground are the way to get a reward. I’d also encourage you to avoid saying the sit command at all, especially if you tend to repeat it over and over. See if you can get your dog to settle without raising its paws five times in a row before you try to move on.
Gently Guide
Tip number three, gently guide your dog into the sit. When you’re teaching your dog to sit, you can use your hand on your dog’s back to help them get into the sit. The pressure should be on the mild side. If you begin to press too firmly and quickly, then your dog’s reflexes will kick in, and your dog will oppose your touch again. This is one of those tips where you’re going to have to use your patience. Don’t go for everything your first time around. Work the skill incrementally, for a few minutes, two or three times a day. Over a week to get your desired result.
Timing Perfect
Tip number four, get the timing for your sit command perfect. Most folks who use voice commands to train their dog will say the command over and over again. This is a real problem, especially when you have a stubborn dog. So, there’s a formula that I use that can help your dog understand exactly what you mean. Here’s what you’re going to try to do…
You want to say you’re singular voice cue right before your dog gets into the sit, and then immediately follow that with your moment marker, praise, and other rewards. What I’m trying to do for your dog is have them hear the sit command, perform the behavior, and then become aware that they are now going to get a meaningful reward.
An Elevated Platform
Tip number five, use a box or an elevated platform to teach all of this. This can be so useful since it can provide a clear target for where you want your dog to go when you teach them something. I’ve been using platform and table training for a long time and know that using it consistently can help me clarify what I’m trying to communicate to my dog. Each time you go to work on leveling a skill like this, the table can make it so much easier for your dog to get the cues you’re trying to share with them.
Those are my five tips to help you improve your dog’s sit.
I hope you found them helpful. Please remember that you can find more tips like this on my YouTube Channel or find them right here at www.longoriahausdogtraining.com.
Happy training!
