It’s been a while since I’ve posted training advice, so I
thought I’d start at the very beginning (it’s a very good place to start). The first command Mom and I worked on—after
my name—was Sit. It’s a good basic
command, a foundation command and a gateway to others, and it is pretty easy
for most dogs to learn.
I was lucky—my foster mom had already worked on Sit with me
a little bit, so all Mom needed to do was solidify Sit for me. That being said, Mom ran me through the basic
process of training Sit so that I would have a solid foundation in it.
1)
Mom took a treat in her fingers and held it
above my head. As my nose went up to the
treat, I could feel my hind end lowering to the ground. I got the treat when I sat all the way down,
which made me take note of what I did.
 |
| Doing Sit to pose for a picture! |
3)
Eventually, Mom worked on using a hand signal
with her hand—a cupped palm facing upward, as though holding a treat—and
started giving me treats from her non-signal hand so that I could learn the
hand signal.
4)
Eventually, I learned the connexion between the
hand signal, the verbal command, and the action! Now Mom can give me the signal or say the
command, and I will promptly sit down—I even sit when I simply hope to get a
treat!
Hopefully this is helpful for anyone else looking to learn
how to sit! If you have any other methods
or tips, feel free to comment below.
Mom isn’t a huge fan of psychically forcing dogs to follow
commands (e.g. physically encouraging a dog to do the action, rather than
luring), so she did not push on my rear end to get me to sit, even if some
other trainers do use that method.
I’ve learned that Sit can be very useful—I met a cute little
girl today who loved giving me hugs and kisses when I was doing a Sit! She was super sweet, and so I’m glad I could
sit still for her so that she could become my newest friend!
Cheers,
Kelsie Iris
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