How to Train a Dog to Sit

Learning how to train a dog to sit isn’t too hard if you follow some simple rules and procedures. The “sit” command is one of the easier dog training commands to master and is usually one of the first commands your dog can learn. If you want to learn how to train a dog to sit then read on.

First, I want to touch down on the overall dog training process. When you are training your dog to do anything (in this case training your dog to sit), you usually pair a gesture and verbal command with the action you want your dog to do. What you are doing is creating an association in your dog’s mind between sitting and the gesture and verbal command you give her.

The next important step is to reward your dog every time he does what he is supposed to do. In this case when you are learning how to train a dog to sit, every time your dog sits, you must reward him for doing so. The reward can be your dog’s favorite treat or can even be playing your dog’s favorite game. No matter what you choose, you must be consistent in giving the rewards, especially early in the training sessions. Once your dog learns the command and listens to it on a regular basis you can give the reward intermittently until finally it can be almost eliminated.

Okay enough of that now for the exciting stuff

How to Train a Dog to Sit

Let’s discuss how you can train a dog to sit using food/treats and verbal praise. Food rewards are often more effective in teaching your dog commands so keep this in mind when reading this how to train a dog to sit post.

What you first want to do is approach your dog when he is in a calm state. If your dog is too excited it will make the training difficult. You can often accomplish this by approaching your dog after a long walk or some exercise.

Hold a small piece of food in your hands and allow your dog to sniff the treat. When your dog begins to sniff the treat you can slowly raise the treat over your dog’s head in intermittent steps. While you are doing this dogs will naturally tend to lower their butts to the floor and finish off in a sit position. Once your dog sits you should immediately give your dog verbal praise and a treat to go along.

Learning how to train a dog to sit sounds easy, right? Well, honestly it is. Just remember that when training your dog you should always give the reward within a couple of second of achieving the desired result. If the reward is too delayed, your dog may not associate the reward with the behavior (in this case the behavior is your dog being trained to sit. I mention this because it's probably one of the more common mistakes new dog trainers do when learning how to train a dog.

A few more things and you will be an expert on training a dog to sit. Keep the training sessions short. Dogs, especially puppies don’t have the patience for a long training session. Keep your training sessions to a maximum of 10 or even 5 minutes. Also remember to train your dog in different situations, locations and times. If you are always training a dog to sit in the kitchen, your dog may end up associating sitting on command only in the kitchen so do a little variety and you should be okay.

Now for all you people that like structure...

How to Train a Dog to Sit – Step by Step Instructions

1. Stand in front of your dog

2. Hold your dog’s favorite treat near her nose but just out of her reach

3. Slowly move the treat above your dog’s head towards her tail

4. Say your dog’s name to get her attention and give the “sit” command

5. As soon as your dog sits (which they will usually do) then praise your dog and give her the treat

6. Repeat the previous steps for 5 minutes

Okay now you are an expert on training your dog to sit. Keep your eyes open on more training sessions including:

How to potty train a dog
How to train a dog to stay
How to train a dog to fetch
And much more

Stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed this post on how to train a dog to sit.

Berto