Teaching "Sit"
 

Is this the right place for this? It seems like lots of people talking about potty training, but I hope other kinds of training go here too.

I've had Bailey for a week, and she is 11 weeks old today. I would really like to start teaching her simple commands like sit, stay, etc.

I'm a big "It's Me or the Dog" watcher and have Victoria Stilwell's book. I was always planning to try her methods of just holding a treat in front of the dog and letting them lick it but not have it until they do the behavior you want. I was wondering if anyone uses this method and how it works for you. I've tried to do this waith Bailey a couple times but she never sits. She mostly jumps. Maybe I'm not waiting long enough, but at her age I want to keep it short and fun.

I can tell Bailey will be a fast learner because she already knows the "watch me" command pretty well. This kind of came by accident because when I would hold up one of her balls or toys to throw she would stop and look up at me, waiting. I decided since she already did this to put the words and hand gesture with it. Now when she hears me say "watch me" she will often stop, look up at me and wait. And she will even do it while I'm standing.

I used a baiting method to teach mine to wait while stacking...it is a very gradual process...and requires slowly increasing the interrvals.


Teaching sit is easy. Place her in front of you...pushing her butt down, while repeating sit. Give her the treat...telling her good sit. She'll catch on very quickly. Mine all learned it within 10 minutes.

I have tried to do it this way, but she won't let me push her butt down. :rolleyes:

Maybe I need to try different times of day or when she's in different moods.

A simple "sit" is the easiest trick to teach. With food in your hand, raise hand over dog's head and slightly back, the dog will automatically go in the sitting position. Say "yes" and repeat. Do not say yes if the dog is on his hunches, but only if his butt is on the floor, as soon as that happens say yes, and give treat. Teaching a Dog to Sit

Thanks. That's what I've been trying, but she doesn't seem to go to a sit naturally. She jumps up or walks around to the side of me. Silly girl. :animal36

Then you may not be putting the treat slightly behind her head, this is the important part. You raise the treat, and as she's looking at it, you slowly move it back over her head, if you do it right, she will sit.

Also training works best if they are slightly hungry.

Nancy and I taught this different ways....I never even showed mine the treat.

I just showed Joey the web page. :D

What about getting close to a wall or corner? The trainer suggested that when teaching Sam to sit.

That's Awesome that you already have her trained with 'Watch Me'. So many dog owners don't even cover this command, and I think it's VERY important. ;)

"Sit":
Sit on the floor with Bailey and make sure your using treats that are simply irresistable to her. Or, you could even use her ball as her 'treat'. [only throw it when she's sitting].
And remember to repeat 'sit' constantly; and give her ALOT of praise and 'good girl''s!
If she won't sit on her own, or by command, first you could use the 'follow the treat' technique. Let her see the treat, hold it above her nose and start raising it above her head bringing it toward her backside. When a dog's head goes up and back, bottom's go down. Once it's down, praise and treat. And remember to be repeating 'sit'.
If this dosen't work at all, you could place one hand under her chest raising up and gently pushing down on her rear. even if you have to keep your hand on her to keep her sitting, still give her a treat and let her know your proud of her. [reverse psychology ;)].

Hope this helps!

You can message me with any questions you have.
Dog training is a small hobby of mine.

Good Luck.

I love "It's me or the dog" I have it set to record all episodes on the dvr! :)

Genghis has learned several tricks from her methods. Check it oout: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/my-...-occupied.html

Same! That's how I did it w/ Jackson. He learned within five minutes.

Thanks everyone. We will keep at it. I managed to push her butt down a couple times and told her good sit. But as far as getting her to sit on her own...She can't keep all 4 feet on the floor long enough to be forced into a sit. She just start jumping.

One technique that works really well if you are patient is to hold the food, tell the command, and wait till the pup does what you told them, then give the treat. It gets faster and faster everytime :)

important for above: only say the command ONCE

This is how I taught Pepper to sit. He caught on very quick.

Don't give up she will get it soon. I love the "watch me" command. Can't wait to try that one. Thanks!

Very helpful!!!!!!!!!

Bailey and I are getting frustrated. She still won't get "sit" and she's just getting angry at me because she can't earn the treat. She's started to attack my socks or pants when I remove the treat. :rolleyes:

TishaMoon, why don't you try "Down" for a while instead? Training should be fun for both of you.

I have been trying to get Thor to Roll Over for forever and he seemed reeeeeeeeally close last week. Yesterday, I found myself trying the command Roll Over, You Dumb Dog! I think I'm going to work on Watch Me for a while. :rolleyes:

I do have hope because it also took forever for Thor to get Shake, and now that's one of his favorites.

Oh, also: if she's jumping around a lot, try doing a training session after she's had a long walk or training session. Hopefully she'll be less, "Omigod Give Me The Treat I Want The Treat It's A Treat!!!!!!"

Duh, when I said "long walk or training session", I meant "long walk or PLAY session".

Also: You can try holding the treat out between all five fingers at nose level. When you have her attention, tilt your hand back toward your wrist, as if beckoning someone. Usually if the dog is jumping at the treat, it's being held too high.

I love "It's Me or the Dog" too! :)

Thanks. I just have to stop trying to rush things. :rolleyes: She just got watch me so quickly and everyone says sit is the easiest so I get annoyed easily. I can't blame her for getting mad at me. It's like I'm teasing her with a treat she can never get. :(

It can be different for different dogs. "Shake" is supposed to be super-easy also, but it primarily works if your dog naturally paws at stuff. If he doesn't he may learn that Shake means "Run Away Because Mommy Is Going to Grab Your Paw." Similarly, Thor has learned that Roll Over means "Stay on All Fours No Matter What".

The big key with training is patience and flexibility. You may find she learns other commands very easily. Maybe you'll find another way to teach her Sit. Presumably, she sits at other times, so you could try to "catch her in the act" and give her a treat.

I love this thread, very informative! :)

Yay! Bailey's finally getting it!

I think the problem all along might have been that I was trying to train in the kitchen, which has vinyl flooring. Maybe the vinyl's too cold for her little bottom. I brought her in the living room for play time and noticed she was sitting a lot on the carpet, so every time she sat I told her "sit" and just gave her a piece of her dry food. After a while I tried with her favorite treats and she's definitely catching on. She may not sit as soon as I say sit, but when she sees the treat it doesn't take her long to try sitting to get it. :D

My Bailey just learned "paw" last night and gives a little bit a resistance but that's normal. He'll be 5 years old this May, so he learns a little bit faster, but I attached the video for you to see... :)

I just watched your video over on the video board! I can't wait 'til my Bailey can learn those more interesting tricks! It takes a lot of patience to get through the "sit", "down" commands to get to the fun ones! :p

Yes LOTS of patience, but it's soooooooooooooooooo worth it!!!! :D You're doing a great job, keep it up!

Great information on this thread and that video is great!!
I taught all my girls to sit with tiny bits of cheese. I had to hold their bottoms down for the first few times but they picked up pretty quickly. I taught an 8 week old puppy to sit with cheese too so they don't have to be grown to learn tricks. The sit command was a must for my girls since they had to learn how to model. No slackers in this house!! They must earn their keep! LOL!!

When you train .....
make it in a comfortable place for you and for the dog
in a place where there are No Distractions

Make training sessions Short and make them Fun
If you or the dog are getting frustrated ... STOP You're making it worse
training sessions really should be under 5 mins at a time