It goes without saying that the
basic foundation of any dog training program is to teach your dog
how to obey specific commands. If you are capable of making your
dog understand and obey the sit command then you have mastered the
foundation of training your dog. Making a dog sit on command may
seem a trivial matter to some, but to dog owners it is the first
step to developing an obedient pet.
The sit command is an important tool in laying the cornerstone of
your dog training program. It is a command that needs to be used
frequently to keep most young dogs under control. You can make
good use of the sit command whenever you take your dog for his
daily walk. It is very common for dogs to become excited
especially when they are brought outside and are inclined begin
jumping, frolicking and barking at people. If you have trained
your dog to obey the sit command he will immediately stop his
antics and quietly rest his bottom on the ground.
Whenever issuing the sit command or any other command for that
matter, always use a very firm tone of voice. In the initial
stages of teaching your dog the meaning of the command you may
find your dog has some difficulty in understanding exactly what
you mean or does not want to understand possibly due to an inborn
stubborn streak. If this should happen demonstrate what you mean
by gently pushing his rear end into the sitting position. Dogs are
just like people and appreciate praise whenever they do something
that pleases you, so a pat on the back or a little treat will not
be out of place.
There are many situations where you will need to use the sit
command. For example, when you are in the process of taking your
dog out for a walk and he tends to drag you toward the door or he
jumps on you as soon as you enter the house can be corrected by
enforcing the sit command.
You can now enlarge upon his training by adding secondary commands
such as stay.
First, have him obey the sit command, then slowly move backwards
away from him arm outstretched, palm raised in the stop gesture
and telling him firmly to "stay". This sequence should be repeated
many times until he obeys you effortlessly. Once again, don’t
forget to praise or reward your dog after he perfectly responds to
your command.
There are many other times when this simple command can be helpful
to you dog. There may be a time when your dog becomes excited and
disturbed about something and by commanding him to sit you are
diverting his attention from the problem in hand to thoughts of
the reward that he now hopes will be forthcoming and most often he
will calm down. With this simple command you have now laid the
foundations to build a caring relationship with an obedient dog.
