Hey Dog Lovers,
Today I discuss how to incorporate Sit and Stay with some Simple tips for your daily routine.
Pre- Meal
- With food bowl in hand, ask your dog to sit.
- Once your dog has done the requested sit, give them praise. But don’t let them eat their meal yet.
- At this point, work in a “stay” and “leave it.”
- After a few seconds of them “leaving it,” give them praise (+/- a treat) and then have them eat their meal.
- You can further solidify this behavior and get even more “mileage” out of it by feeding your dog from an interactive feeder
Knock-Knock
- Keep an air-tight jar of training treats outside your front door. Make sure it’s off the ground and well out of your dog’s reach.
- Each time you walk in the door at the end of the day or after running errands, grab a few treats before entering your house.
- When you’re greeted by your dog(s), immediately ask them to “sit.” Standing still and paying them no other attention until they do.
- Once they perform the requested sit, give them praise and a treat.
- Now ask all other family members and any visitors to do the same. With daily practice and consistency, you’ll soon have a much more pleasant (and safer) homecoming.
Look Both Ways
- When out on your daily walk(s), take a moment and ask your dog to sit at each intersection before you cross.
- Give them praise and a treat when they perform the requested sit and soon you’ll have a dog that will reflexively sit each time they approach an intersection, rather than trying to tug you headlong into oncoming traffic.
- It’s also best to have your dog perform it a couple of feet back from the curb, rather than right next to the street. After all, you never know when someone is going to cut their turn too tight and put a tire up over the curb.
Make sure to check back weekly for: Training Tuesdays and Thursday Thoughts!
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