2torial #0933:
Learn2 Train Your Dog to Sit and Stay

Sittin' pretty

Have you ever walked by a store or restaurant on a busy street and seen a dog quietly sitting at the door waiting for its owner? Ever wondered why your dog won't do that?

The sit and stay commands are invaluable skills for any dog, no matter what size, temperament, or age.

When you train your dog to sit and stay, it will have less trouble behaving in social settings and sitting calmly when strangers pet it, or when it's waiting at the vet's office. You'll even be able to take your dog to areas where you know other dogs will be with less worry.

Still doubting your wild puppy can learn this skill? Believe it or not, that dog waiting outside of the store isn't any smarter or better than yours. Its owner just knew good dog training basics, and made the time and effort to follow through with them over and over until the dog learned them well.

If you're just beginning the training process, it's important to realize the key to training your dog any command is patience. Don't expect it to learn to sit and stay in a couple of hours.

Dogs (and, incidentally, people) learn best from positive reinforcement--praise and other rewards for good behavior. Reward your dog consistently with praise and/or treats every time it does something correctly. But limit treats to when you're training. Otherwise, your dog will come to expect treats as the norm, and won't think of them as rewards.

When your dog makes a mistake, correct it verbally. Physical discipline will only slow the learning process down. Negative reinforcement, or discipline, should be used only when your dog has done something really out of line, like if it's bitten a stranger or attacked another dog without provocation.

Finally, keep your training sessions short and entertaining; three 10-minute practice sessions throughout the day will be far more effective than one 30-minute session. If you keep your sessions fun and brief, your dog will look forward to them--and so will you.