How to Train Your Dog to Sit

Training your dog to sit and training to heel are two lessons that go together. This is so because sitting and heeling are often used when your dog is walking on a leash. Heeling simply means your dog is walking correctly under leash control. The sit is another method of greeting. So when the dog rushes to meet you or someone else, you command "Sit!" whereupon he sits down instead of pawing or jumping or actually acting generally objectionable.

Now, you are walking with your dog trotting along at your left side while the leash is held in your right hand and your left hand is being reserved for something else. Coil up the leash into a fairly short length and as you stop and command "Sit!" lift gently on the leash to hold the dog's head up, while you press his haunches into a sitting position with your left hand. The pressing must be in a gentle but slow manner, and do not remove your hand too quickly. Your aim is to make the dog sit and not to lie down, so to achieve this, you may have to continue pulling the leash upward. And as you command him to sit, make sure you keep your feet still because if you remove your feet, the puppy also will move.

When you start this at first, the dog may be surprised at the pressure and may probably want to break away. If he displays any act of resistance, order "Heel!" immediately and gaily and start walking to calm him down. Then try the sit exercise again and keep at it consistently and in about ten days or so, your dog will be performing consistently.

If when you command "Sit!" your dog lies down instead, chances are that you did not hold the leash correctly. The right result will be achieved when your hold on the leash produces the right pressure. So you will need to pull up the leash in a slow but firm manner as you issue the order "Sit!" When your grip on the leash is not strong enough, and the dog lies down instead of sitting, do not to correct by jerking. The mistake was yours not the dog's. So reach down and with your right hand between the forelegs, raise him to the sitting position, then pet him to show approval.

If your dog gets up the instant you take your hand away, that, too, is your fault. What you need do is to keep your hand pressed to the rump long enough for him to understand what you want, even if it takes several seconds. Gradually, less pressure and time will be needed and finally none at all; likewise the up-pull on the leash can soon be skipped. Should the dog sit diagonally instead of squarely, nudge his quarters to the right or left so that he heads directly forward.

Now that you have learnt how to train your dog to sit, would it not be better to learn more training tips that will help make your dog the perfect pet you can ever have? If your answer is 'yes', then check out these Dog Training Tips, they work like gangbusters.