Video:Teach a Dog to Sit

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Transcript:Teach a Dog to Sit

Hi, I'm Andrea Arden at Animal Haven SoHo located in New York City for About.com, and today I'm going to show you how to teach your dog to sit.

Why Teach a Dog to Sit?

There's an almost endless amount of reasons to teach your dog to sit. For example, you'll want your dog to sit rather than to jump on people and you'll want him to sit rather than run out the front door.

Teach a Dog to Sit: The Capturing Method

There are two methods you can use. The first is called the capturing method. Show your dog a treat and stand quietly in front of him. Wait for your dog to figure out what he has to do to get the treat. Pretty soon he'll try sitting, and when he does say YES and give him the treat. Saying the word YES right as your dog does what you want him to do, in this case sitting, is a way for him to learn that a certain behavior will get him what he wants, in this case a treat.

Teach a Dog to Sit: The Lure/Reward Method

The second method for teaching your dog to sit is called the lure / reward method. Basically by hiding a treat at the tip of your dog's nose and lifting up and back, you can lift your dogs head and his body will follow. As you slowly lift your dogs head backwards, you'll notice that his rear goes to the ground, and when it hits the ground say the word YES to mark the behavior to say to your dog that's what's going to get you the treat, and then give your dog the treat. Repeat many times in three to five minute training sessions, offering a tiny treat for each sit.

Advanced Dog Training

When you're confident he'll follow your hand and move his rear to the ground, you can say the word sit right as you begin to move your hand, so he can connect the cue word SIT with the behavior of doing so when you ask. To phase-out the lure, start offering the treat from your other hand, so you're going to make the hand signal from one hand, but give the treat from the other, and then you can eventually phase out the treat all together and just use praise and the occasional award such as a treat when your dog sits when you request.

Thanks for watching. To learn more visit us on the Web at homegarden.about.com.