The Sit and Down

To begin teaching a sit hold a "cookie" in your hand and present it to the dog just over it's nose and then motion straight back toward its tail. This should produce a sit from the dog as it tries to maintain eye contact with the reward. When it does, say "Sit" and reward with praise and that cookie the pup was eyeing. As the pup catches on you will make less of a motion with your hand. 

To begin the down you will work much the same way. It is sometimes easier to start with the dog in a sitting position. Present the "cookie" and drop your hand to the ground in between it's front legs, so that the dog follows and gives you a down. If the dog only bows hold the cookie until it relaxes and drops it's bottom. When it performs a down say "Down", reward and give him the cookie.

With both behaviors continue to work until the dog readily performs what you asked of it. Move the training to the back yard where some distractions will exist for the dog. You will now be asking for more attention from the dog. If it is a puppy you will need to keep in mind the short attention span of the young and work with it until the pup grows older.

When successful in the back yard then move to a site with a few more distractions, such as the front yard. The dog should be on leash or in a fenced area until the recall is solid.

Training should appear to be play time to the dog, keep it fun! When the dog is reliable with both commands make a game out of it by walking around the house and asking for a quick sit or down randomly. If the dog presents the wrong behavior simply say, "Wrong", and begin again. The dog will soon learn to anticipate the command more carefully in order to earn the reward. 

© 1999 - 2003 Katie Greer Agility Ability.  No portion of this may be copied in any manner without expressed written permission.