How to Train Your Dog: Sit & Down

Whether your dog is young or old he can always benefit from some training. Training not only makes your pup more fun to be around, it also makes the bond between you both grow. In this How-To you will learn how to teach your dog to: Sit and Down.

SIT

Sit is one of the easiest behaviors your dog can do on command. The first method is to be patient and wait for your dog to sit on his/her own. When you see them do this, excitedly say "good sit!" and give them a treat. Keep giving him a treat when he sits while saying "good sit" and overtime he will get the hang of it. Eventually you will be able to tell him to "sit" and he will.

The other method is to hold a treat a little bit above your dogs head and move it back towards his tail. As he looks up at the treat and follows it with his head he should automatically get into the sit position. At this point tell him "good sit" and reward him with the treat. It won't take long until he will sit for you at anytime. You can think of "sit" as the equivalent of our "please". I make my dog sit before I feed her dinner and before we go outside for a walk - it's good dog etiquette.

Down

Down is a useful command for your dog to know. One of the biggest mistakes people make however is to use the word "down" to mean different things. Down should mean lay-down on the floor only - and you should find another work like "off" to mean get off the couch or get off the person you're jumping on.

Get your dog to sit, but when he does don't reward him with a treat just yet. Take the treat in your hand and hold it just in front of his nose. Move the treat from his nose directly down to the floor and he should follow with his head and then his body. When he lies down immediately give him the treat and say "good down". Rinse and repeat until your dog gets it, and then tell him down - no longer luring him with the treat - and watch as your little puppy makes you proud!

If he just won't lie down, try a method called "shaping" where you reward him at each step. So instead of rewarding him only when he lays down, reward him as he follows the treat with his head. Keep getting him to bring his head further down, and eventually he will lay down for you. When he does make sure to give him tons of praise for a job well done!
Goodluck and happy dog training!