Puppy Obedience Training – Teach Your Puppy to Sit and Stay the First Time

Sit.

This is the most basic command your puppy needs to learn. He can read from the newspaper or any article that has human interest. Sit is also the first step in promote good focus. Your puppy must be motivated to want to learn this trick.

Start by putting a small piece of treat just above his nose. Slowly move the treat back over his head and towards his back. The puppy will raise his head to keep his eyes on the treat and sit. As soon as his head hits the ground, say the command “Sit.” Always use the same word so that he associates the word with the action. Your puppy is being trained that when you say the word sit, he can expect a treat. Part of the training plan is that you will practice this between 20-30 times a day.

Stay.

Stay has been developed to be a stable position. Your puppy knows how to sit and stay on command. This command can be used to keep him out of danger when crossing a street or in between rooms in your house. It is important that your puppy understands the stay command even before you teach it the “sit” or “stay” command. Because the stay command is often used in combination with sit and stay commands it is important that your puppy will succeed in staying until released. That will require your puppy to learn the stay behavior on command. Start with your puppy in a sit position. Now place your hand, with the palm open, directly in front of his nose. Move the hand back without leaving his line of vision. Now move your hand a few inches to the left. Your puppy will likely instinctively move into a sit position. If he does, give him the “stay” command and reward him with a treat and praise. If he does not sit, but instead tries to walk forward, give him the “sit” command and gently return him to a sit position repeating “stay”  and “sit”  as you move. As your puppy sits, release him from the stay command and praise.  If you repeat this exercise enough times your puppy will naturally want to remain still and be sitting. You can prevent him from getting up by gently pushing him against his rump with your hand or getting him into a sit position.

For your first session with the puppy training techniques, start with the stay command, as mentioned above. Once you have practiced this command enough times to get his hand to be palm out in front of his nose, you are ready to teach him the sit command.

The “sit” command is a little more difficult for your puppy to learn than the stay command. You may want to try teaching him the sit or freeze commands separately before starting to use the “stay” command. Coax your puppy to sit and reward her with a treat when she does. Do this several times in one short session.

Repeat this section of the training program frequently until your puppy can sit as described above for about one minute. At this point, gently open your puppy’s mouth with your hand. Do not attempt to close her mouth. Do this slowly and carefully.

A puppy’s eyes should be kept open in order to continue the training process.

The next move is to gently plant your puppy’s bottom firmly on the ground and say the word “stay” in a firm tone of voice. Your puppy will probably try to get up. This is normal. Wait a few seconds and then return her to a sit position. Now wait five seconds and give the “stay” command again. You will need to repeat this process for five minutes and then an hour.