"Response Control" Through Commands and Signals

Have you ever sat down and made a list of all the commands and body signals you have taught your dog to respond to? It is quite an eye opener, I can tell you! It is also a very useful exercise, as it helps us focus on all the different signals that we expect our dogs to recognise and understand. If the list seems muddled and unclear to us, just imagine how confusing these commands must be to our dogs!

Training Your Dog To Sit

When training always remember that dogs respond best to positive reinforcement – yelling at your dog and hitting him will not accomplish the task, instead use rewards such as treats and your approval – this will make the task much more pleasant for both of you!

There is a common “process” to training, no matter what you want the dog to do. They key is to get the dog to perform the action and at that exact moment give the command for the action, then praise the dog and reward him with a treat. After a while, he will catch on and associate the action with the command.  

Here’s some steps you can use to train your dog with the most basic command – Sit.

1. The first thing you need to do is to get your puppy or dog to associate the act of sitting with the command. To do this, simply hang around with your dog and when he sits give the “sit” command.

2. Getting down to your dogs level will allow you to present his reward (treats) quicker so grab a handful of bite sized treats and get down on the floor.

3. Bring the treat up over the dogs head. He will smell the food and follow it with his nose. This action will cause him to sit (or backup, but obviously we are hoping for the sitting action).

4. The key to the training is to present the reward at the exact moment the dog sits, but you must also give the command at that moment as well so that he associates command with action. So as the dog sits, say “sit” and then immediately give him the treat.

5. Give the dog praise – show joy in your voice and he will really respond.

6. Repeat three to five times at each session but no more than that. Training should be fun and not a boring chore so don’t overdo it in one sitting. You may have several sessions throughout the day.