DOG OBEDIENCE TRAINING:

By Dennis Fisher.

THE SIT.

This article is one of a great many articles written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning different  dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health matters, training problems and other subjects.  All these articles appear on Dennis Fisher's websites.   Visit  http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or http://www.freedogadvice.com  if you interested in a breed   other than German Shepherd Dogs

 The sit is of course the easiest training exercise for any dog and you can start  with food when the pup is very young.   

It’s very easy to encourage the pup to sit by holding a tasty tidbit , not his regular food, in front of this nose and only rewarding him when he sits.

In a very short time the pup knows exactly what to do.  Immediately you give the command the pup will sit in anticipation of food.

The process is a little more complicated  when it is on leash and you want it to sit immediately you come to a halt. 

 You can, if you wish, continue with the food reward method.  It can be a useful method of teaching a perfectly straight sit, as is required in obedience competitions.

While the dog is on leash and you come to a halt, you can hold a  small piece of food directly above the dog’s nose, as you did when it was a pup and encourage it to sit  in this way. 

 If the sit is not perfectly straight you can encourage the dog to sit straight by only rewarding when the sit is perfect.

This method of  teaching the sit can work very well indeed and you can get the dog to sit very quickly in this way.

 Many trainers however, prefer the more orthodox and old-fashioned method of training to sit.  This is a easy and very reliable way to teach the dog to sit.  It makes no difference how large the dog is, it is a methods  that works  equally well with all dogs.

Have the dog on leash and when you stop, extend your left leg a little further than usual to give the dog an indication that you intend stopping.

 Your dog is on your left side and your leash is your right hand. As you stop use your left hand to help you shorten the lead in your right hand. 

This  means, in effect,  that instead of having a long lead in your right hand,  you now  have a bunched up very much shorter lead in your right hand.

 Your left hand is now free.  When you stop, give the command ‘SIT”.  Lift up your right hand quite high. At the same time use your left hand to press down on the dog’s hindquarters.  

You won’t need very much force to press down on the dog’s hindquarters because you are lifting the dogs head with your right hand at the same time.

The position of your left hand is important. Don’t press down in the middle of the dog’s back. Rather slide your hand down towards the back of his rib cage.

After a short while, you’ll find that you only have to touch his hindquarters to encourage him to sit.  Do this at the same time as you give the voice command ‘SIT” and very soon you’ll have a perfect sit.

It’s important for your dog to obey you and sit immediately you give the command.  

It’s easy for you to achieve this.  With the shortened leash in your right hand and your left hand pressing down on his hindquarters, you will easily be able to control your dog, even if it is a large animal.

When you have stopped, it’s a good idea not to start walking forward immediately.   Let the dog remain in the sit position for a short while.

Take advantage of the fact that you have given him a command and he has listened. Your next command as you step forward – with your left  foot remember – should be “heel”.

There is no need to continue using your left hand once he has become accustomed to listening to your command “sit” and obeys immediately.

Simply lift up your right hand as you give the “sit” command.   At a later stage of training you are going to expect him to sit immediately you  stop and give the “sit” command.

 There won’t be  any necessity for lifting your right hand at all.