One of the great and fun things to do with your dog is play and training. Teaching tricks is part of that. When you see other dogs with their owners doing all kinds of tricks and tricks, it all seems very simple. Yet it takes a lot of practice, repetition and patience to teach your four-legged friend all this. Are you just starting to practice tricks on your dog? Then sitting is a good start, because from here you can also teach him other tricks. In this article we will tell you how you can learn the trick ‘sitting nicely’ step by step.
Start with training beautiful sitting
Are you ready to start training the command beautiful sit? Then start with proper preparation. How will you reward your buddy for good behavior and responding well to your commands? Will you give him reward treats? Then make sure you have plenty of treats on hand. If you are used to doing clicker training with your dog, then your animal will know how this positive reward works for him.
Naturally, you can also reward with your voice. Say for example: ‘good dog’ or ‘good boy’. When you reward with your voice you will automatically speak a little higher and more friendly. Your animal feels very well that this is a positive way of paying attention to him.
Step 1: Find a good spot
With good preparation it is also important that you find the right place where you will do the training. Find a quiet place without distractions. For example, a spacious room where there is no clutter and where no other animals or people are present. This will create the most ideal conditions for concentrated training.
Step 2: Start training
Now the training really begins. We assume that your four-legged friend already knows the command ‘sit’. Have your dog sit, and then hold out a tasty treat. He may only sniff at it, and not eat it. Put your hand with the treat in it slightly upwards, so that your dog goes up with it. Is he so far up that one of his legs of the floor comes? Then give him a reward. The first step, the paw elevator, has been taken.
Step 3: Tiresome? Start again
Note: Does your dog stand up while you raise your hand? Then stop the exercise and start again from the beginning. So first sit again, and then move your hand up a little more slowly. Your dog’s nose must remain close to the treat. Is this exercise a little difficult? Stay patient and reward your animal generously. Even if he only lifts or moves his front leg a tiny bit.
Step 4: The double paw elevator
You can now move on to the next step: the double paw elevator. When your dog lifts a paw, you hold the treat just a little higher. Your buddy must then stretch his neck to reach the treat, and his other paw must also be off the floor in the process. As soon as the second leg is off the floor, give a reward. Do not wait too long, otherwise your dog will probably stand up or jump to get the treat.
Is this step difficult and does your animal keep coming up from a sitting position? Then try holding the treat a little more back. Reward immediately after your dog gives the correct response. Repeat these first two steps until your dog easily and quickly lifts both paws when you lift the treat in front of him.<