Sit Skills
Getting your dog (or cat!) to sit is a good way to introduce training to them, and for you to learn how to train!
Starting in a familiar, low distraction environment, prep 10 small (pea sized or smaller depending on the size of your animal), squishy treats.
- Use your pet’s ‘start training’ cue (see here: Start and End Cue)
- If they’re ready, take one treat and place it at a short distance in front of your pet’s nose
- Slowly move your hand upwards and behind your pet’s head - this is called ‘luring’
- As soon as their bottom touches the floor, say ‘yes’ or click (see: Using a Marker) and feed them
- To reset them, away you can use a hand touch, or throw a treat
- Repeat 3 times then
- Begin to fade your lure by doing the same hand action without the treat in your hand
- Slowly morph your hand action into your hand signal (i.e. flat hand, with palm facing up, moving upwards)
- Finish your training session after ten treats, use your ‘finished cue’
How to add a verbal cue:
- When your pet responds reliably to the hand signal (4 out of 5 times), stay the word you want to use just before you use the hand signal
- If you want to only use the word, ensure you fade out the hand movement
Practice, practice practice
Begin training under different distractions, distances, and at different durations.
A note of caution on sit:
If your pet isn’t sitting, it may be uncomfortable or painful to. Be aware of where and why you’re asking them to sit! Are you asking them to sit on a slippery surface? Or when it’s cold and they have arthritis? Or they’re way too excited? Maybe ask for eye contact or a hand target instead, or tell them to ‘find it’ and throw some food on the floor to help them down regulate.
