Dog Training Tips – Teaching Your Dog to Sit
Many people’s experience with dog training can be described like this; when their dog is six months to a year old, they sign up for a dog obedience class; some make it through the six or eight week course and some do not; but for many, that is the end of their dog’s education, and they describe their pet as “an obedience school dropout.”
To these people, I say, “Let’s be honest.” The dog didn’t drop out. You did. After all, who didn’t drive to the class or decided to skip the session?”
The Problem with Obedience School
But in fairness to dropouts, let’s also admit that a dog obedience class can be a frustrating experience for both dog and owner if this class is the dog’s first experience with training. Obedience classes traditionally begin with the heel command, which is actually one of the more complex things you can ask a dog to understand. It’s like expecting a child to learn algebra when they haven’t had basic arithmetic.
When you give a dog the heel command, what you’re asking him/her to do is not one specific thing. What your dog is supposed to do depends entirely on what you’re doing. Should your dog walk when you walk, turn when you turn, and stop when you stop. Add to that the fact that, if this is the first training experience, your poor dog doesn’t even understand that training is what is going on. The dog is not a bad dog, and is not a stupid dog, but he/she not only doesn’t know what you’re asking it to do, your dog also probably doesn’t even understand that you’re asking it to do something.
An Easier Way
It doesn’t have to be this way. There is a simpler way to train your dog, so relaxed that you can begin training your puppy the day you bring her home.
The “sit” command is the most universally useful command you can teach your dog. The new dog owner might wonder why. “How is this useful? The dog is not doing anything!”
Exactly! A dog that is sitting is not jumping all over your grandmother, or whatever other obnoxious behavior you want it to stop doing. And more importantly, a dog that is sitting when told is a dog that is under control and doing what you want.
The traditional method of teaching the sit command is to have the dog on leash at your side, repeat the command “Sit” while you pull up on the leash and push down on her butt. You’re forcing the dog into the correct position, but this is not enjoyable and can be stressful and frustrating for both you and the dog.
But why force the dog into position when you can coax? Start with a treat, something yummy like dried liver, or even a piece of kibble if he/she hasn’t been fed yet. Call the dog, get his/her attention, and make sure your dog knows you have a treat.
It won’t take long. Within seconds your dog will be there, his/her nose right at your fingertips. From this position, all you have to do is move the treat back over his/her nose and the top of it’s head.
Keep your hand only an inch or two over the dog’s head; too high and she’ll rear up on her hind legs. But, with the treat moving right back over her head, the nose will follow it, up and back… until… he/she… SITS!
Say good doggie, and reward him/her with a treat.
Do this a number of times every day. When you feed your dog, he/she will probably be jumping and frisking when your dog sees you coming with the food bowl. Tell your dog to sit, and when your dog sits, tell him/her is a good dog and set down the bowl.
You don’t need to give the dog a treat now every time you tell him/her to sit. But do give your dog a praise! Your dog is doing what you asked it to do, acknowledge that, let your dog know how pleased you are, and what a good dog he/she is.
These exercises are not just useful in themselves, your dog is also learning to learn. Your dog is learning that sometimes you want it to do something, that there is a word associated with the thing you want her to do, and that if he/she pays attention, he/she can figure it out.
Above all, never consider that you’re “done” training your dog. There’s always something new to learn, and new ways for you and your dog to have fun together.
Derrick Madison has two wonderful dogs, and shares his dog training methods on his blog. For more information on dog training techniques, and how to deal with problem dog behavior, you can visit his blog at: Dog Behavior Training 101
Dog Training Treats: Teaching your Dog to Sit
Dogs can be the greatest source of love and happiness in our lives. However, they can also be a source of endless frustration. Usually the difference between a well-behaved dog and a chaotic dog is training. dog training is an art and a science. Thee are many videos and books written on the subject and a lot of good information can also be found online.
One of the most basic training commands is “Sit.” It is also one of the most useful. When I take my dogs into a dog store, so many pets are misbehaving, barking at each other, or trying to show who is boss while we are in line. My dogs, however, are commanded to sit while I wait in line. Usually, people are awed by this. But it really isn’t very remarkable. Teaching a dog to sit does not have to be challenging.
Below is some advice I found online:
Few things in life are prettier than watching a well-trained dog and one of the basic commands is the sit command. There are several methods of teaching your dog to sit. Two of the most popular are the Click and the Compulsory methods. The Click method is based again on purely positive reinforcement while the Compulsory method uses both positive and negative reinforcements. Let’s begin our discussion with the easier of the two, The Click Method.
The Click Method of training a dog to sit is based upon rewarding the animal for the desired behavior. It gets its name from the idea that some audible queue is used to alert the animal of a pending reward with many trainers using a device called a clicker for this purpose. Whenever the audible queue is given, the reward follows immediately. To train a dog to sit by this method requires little effort on the trainers’ part. One begins by lavishing the dog with several treats, one right after the other while giving the audible queue.
Then abruptly stop the shower of treats and wait for the animal to direct its attention to you. Now display a treat and give the audible queue as you give the treat to the pet. Now hold another treat at chest level so that the dog must look up to see the treat. After a few minutes, your pet will likely sit down on its haunches because this position makes it much easier to watch the treat. Immediately, when this happens, give the audible queue and reward the pet. Repeat this lesson several times.
After a while you will notice your pet sitting in anticipation of the click and the reward so it is now time to add your verbal command to the routine. When the dog begins to sit, say “sit”. This will gradually teach the dog that the command precedes the action and they will learn the meaning of the command in this way. After some practice and a bit of patience, your dog should begin to sit without having to see a reward being offered.
Now let’s discuss the more traditional method of training. The Compulsory Method. This is the method grand dad used on his dogs. Tell the puppy to sit while enforcing it. Saying the verbal command “sit” and pushing down on the puppy’s tail section to make it contact the floor accomplish the lesson. With some dogs you might have to hold their chin up during this process or they will go ahead and lie down. The object behind the lesson is to teach the pup when you say “sit” that there is no other choice but to sit and so eventually the animal will respond on its own rather than having to be coaxed into position.
Some owners use a tool called a choke collar for this training method. They will leash the dog with the choke collar in place and upon the sit command push the dog down. At the same time they will hold the choke collar down by way of the leash allowing only enough slack for the dog to sit but not stand up. If the dog tries to stand the choke collar tightens around the animals’ neck producing extreme discomfort.
The author does not recommend this method as it can produce a nervous and fearful animal, which can become quite aggressive when it feels threatened. Such training also makes leash training much more difficult as it teaches the animal to fear the leash because of the pain inflicted by it. This also tends to lessen the bond between master and dog because the dog comes to associate the master with the pain and discomfort as well and may lash out at the owner or others if the treatment continues.
In whichever method you choose for training your pet, one thing remains constant. Always be consistent. Also be sure to pour lavish affection upon your pet for good behaviors and responses as this improves their bond to you and makes them desire to please you more fully. With a moderate amount of time and patience, your dog will be rivaling any animal presented at the local dog competitions for his well-trained style and mannerisms.
Source: i-love-dogs.com
Training a dog to sit is not difficult. It requires an investment of time on the part of the owner, but, in the long-run, it will save a lot of time of trying unsuccessfully to control your dog.
It is also very important to use treats while training your dog. While thee are many inexpensive treats to choose from, I recommend against most of those. Because you will be using lots of treats during the training process, I think it is important to select healthy treats. Your dog will be eating a lot of whatever you choose and the treats that are filled with preservatives and additives are not good choices.
There are great places, especially online, to buy treats that are natural and healthy for your dog training needs. Just like the time investment, it may cost a little more now to feed your dog the high quality treats, but in the long run, it will pay off with fewer vet visits!
“Sit” is a good command to begin training your dog with. It has innumerable uses and is very rewarding. Once you success in training your dog to sit, you can continue with similar methods to other commands.
Lisa M Andrews is an expert on dog behavior, dog training, and the right training treats for dogs. She helps formulate recipes for gourmet dog treats, and tests them on all of her favorite dogs. She loves spending time with her 3 dogs and assisting dog lovers with finding the right dog treats for their pets’ health needs. She also enjoys talking with dog owners and hearing the stories about their favorite pets.
Dog training tip of the day- Fading a Lure (while teaching SPIN)
This is a quick how to video I made for a youtube user who said they were having trouble getting rid of the lure. I hope to make a more in depth video on this subject. As well as how to ween off of treats as well. But for now here is my dog training tip of the day. I created the video immediately after having the idea to make it, so I used my own dogs, it would have been great to have used a puppy. I encourage other dog trainers out there to make How to videos on how to fade a lure when training with food, because it is information that is very important to stop training enthusiasts from getting stuck down the road Quick tips when using a lure: 1 Get RID of the lure as soon as you can! The goal is within 3 trials. 2 If you don’t have a clicker use a very short word like “yes!” or “yep!” 3 Always make it harder and harder, don’t get stuck at the same level of criteria 4 If you go to far to quickly you can always go back a step 5 If your dog is not following the lure, get a smellier lure- real meat! ———————— Dog training clicker training training with food how to train a dog how to train a puppy how to get rid of a lure how to stop having food in your hand how to get rid of the food in your hand when training a dog dog how to get the focus off of the treat and onto WORKING for the reinforcement how to use treats when training how to use food when training cool tricks How to teach spin how to teach a dog to spin in a circle how to teach a dog to twirl
Effective Dog Training – Ian Dunbar
Noted veterinarian and dog trainer Dr. Ian Dunbar offers a few of the “million different ways” to train a dog, outlining three simple strategies.
EG is the celebration of the American entertainment industry. Since 1984, Richard Saul Wurman has created extraordinary gatherings about learning and understanding. EG is a rich extension of these ideas – a conference that explores the attitude of understanding in music, film, television, radio, technology, advertising, gaming, interactivity and the web – The Entertainment Gathering
Dr. Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and writer. Dr. Dunbar received his veterinary degree and a Special Honors degree in Physiology & Biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College (London University) and a doctorate in animal behavior from the Psychology Department at the University of California in Berkeley, where he spent ten years researching olfactory communication, the development of hierarchical social behavior, and aggression in domestic dogs.
Dr. Dunbar has written numerous books, including How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks, the Good Little Dog Book and a series of Behavior Booklets: separate educational booklets on each of the most common pet behavior problems. Additionally, Dunbar has hosted eleven videotapes on puppy/dog behavior and training, including SIRIUS ® Puppy Training, Training Dogs With Dunbar and Every Picture Tells A Story. All his videos have won a variety of awards.
Duration : 0:6:16