Originally Posted by Sunnie  start by teaching him one command at a time. You might start with Sit. Hold the treat in your hand and in front of his face. move it upward and towards his back(forcing him to sort of look up and he will sit down. As soon as he sits, tell him he is a good boy and give him the treat. Only say SIT one time.. to them "sit" is a command, and Sit.... sit... sit.. sit" is another command. First say his name so you have his attention, then say Sit, in the same motion, keep the treat close to his nose and move it towards his forhead. Always praise him right away and give him the treat. You will need to practice for maybe 5-10 minutes a couple of times a day. After he is sitting consistantly with a treat, then you can start to occassionally Not give him a treat, but always praise him. Before too long, he will be sitting everytime you say SIT. Gradually stop giving the treat.
Once he has mastered SIT, you can start on DOWN. Do the same as above, (make sure he is sitting) say his name, say DOWN, hold the treat in front of his nose (always keep the treat securely in your hand where he can smell it, but not take it from you until you release it) As you say Down, move your hand towards the ground, very close to him. If he doesn't go down, keep trying moving your hand from his nose, very close to him down to the ground. Once he gets down, give him the treat and praise him. Work with him at least twice a day for short periods of time.. when working with him, as he masters each command, be sure to continue with the first commands as well... In a session, do a few sits, then add a few downs.
To teach him stay, first have him sit or get down, hold your hand palm up in front of his face and say STAY. Slowly back up a few feet. If he stays (even for a couple of seconds) immediately call him to you and give him the treat. If he doesn't stay, immediately, get him back in position and say STAY again and back up. He will soon learnn to stay as you move further away from him. He should stay until you call him to you. Increase the time as he learns. The most important thing to remember is to have a nice quiet spot to train and give him lots of praise, and gradually stop giving him treats as he progresses. Make it fun for him and just train for a short time each session. Good luck. also make sure the treat is very tiny.. if he gets a whole bite each time he will get full before he learns |