Train Your Puppy to Sit in 4 Steps

Training your new puppy is the crucial thing in raising it. There is absolutely no time too early to start the training. In fact, the sooner you start the sooner you will see the results. Basic commands, like “come” and “sit” are the first things your puppy should learn. Here is what you need to know about training your puppy to sit.

1. The Clicker

It’s that magical thing that will make your puppy obey. Sometimes it really looks like that when you watch the training shows on TV. Actually, there is no magic at all, just a simple thing called getting your puppy’s attention.

The clicker is a simple clicking device you should get as soon as you get a puppy. You probably wonder how the hell is a clicking device going to help you train a puppy. It goes as follows – you tell your puppy to do something. As soon as the puppy obeys, you use the clicker. The clicking sound is something that will draw more attention to your puppy than a praise will. As simple as that. As soon as the puppy hears the clicking sound it will know that it has done something right and will try to repeat that.

2. Use Your Hands

You can’t expect your puppy to understand the “sit” command right away. It will need some time to learn and your hands can help a lot during this time.

When you’re just trying to teach your puppy to sit, every time you say “sit”, you should gently push your puppy’s rear down towards the floor. After some time, when the puppy learns this, try just showing the gesture with your hand. Say “sit” and make a downwards move with your hand. After a while the puppy will learn the intonation of your voice and what you want and will respond to the verbal command only.

3. The Prize

Mischievous young Pit Bull puppy paling with young attractive female in park
Your puppy needs to get a prize every time it does something right. Find out if your puppy responds to food or to praise and use that. Have a couple of treats in your pocket and whenever the puppy sits down on your command award it with one. Similar goes if your puppy responds to praise – as soon as it obeys a command say “good dog” and pet it on the head.

This is just as crucial as the clicker. The clicker is actually there to get your puppy’s attention and the prize is there to let it know that it has done something right. As soon as your puppy realizes that it gets prizes for obeying, the training will become easier.

4. Repeat

As soon as you realize that repetition is the core of good training, you will start training your puppy effectively. Nothing can be done in a day or two, you will need to repeat, lots of times, until your puppy learns a command.

This depends on a breed too. Some dogs tend to learn faster, like border collies and puddles for example, while others need more time. Remember that you need to be patient and to repeat as much as it is needed, until the doggy gets it.

Training a puppy isn’t easy. They tend to be distracted, stubborn or simply not willing to cooperate in the moment. However, you need to be firm and decisive and you must not give up. The more effort you put in, the happier dog you will raise.

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