CHARLOTTE – Hi all! One of my favorite ways to use our new sit behavior from last week is to teach your dog to sit quietly beside you while you stop to talk to a friend. Your pup has already learned to sit beside you each time you stop. Next work on duration, asking your dog to hold that sit quietly for a longer amount of time. You can begin this behavior by teaching your dog to lay quietly beside you while you work or watch TV.
Start with your dog beside you while you sit in a chair.
- Cue sit/Reinforce (treat)
- Do not make eye contact or speak – Let him focus
- Before he stands up, treat again
- Repeat reinforcement
- (If your dog gets up, wait calmly for him to sit again and reinforce)
- Repeat reinforcement for sit, but place the treat between your pup’s paws. (Dogs will usually lay down at this point)
- Repeat reinforcement
In the beginning you will be giving quite a few treats. Use your dog’s meal to train if you can. Slowly, start building time in between each treat. Most of the time you’ll see your dog put his head down too. Treat this!
Now take this behavior with you outside.
- When you stop, your dog sits.
- Reinforce the sit, pause, reinforce again.
- Talk with your friend, reinforce between your pup’s paws.
- When your dog lays down, treat/pause/treat/pause.
We can’t expect the behavior if we haven’t worked on it. Practice!
Stay positive, friends!
Sit, Stay, Play Dog Training & Behavior
