How do I get my puppy to sit?

[AlphaMale]

This may sound selly, but I am very new at this.

How do I train him to sit. He is only 6 weeks(not sure though). Is he too young to learn(He knows "come here" and knows his name)

Does all training involve food?

[Dax]

A little pressure on the rump while you say sit - then praise. For a little dog works nicely. Once he does it - then add a hand signal so that you can use one or both.

[AlphaMale]

I will give it a try.

Building doggy vocabulary sounds fun.

[weimlover0816]

Dax is right, (as usual ).... and, to answer your other question, NO, not all training involves food. It really depends on what motivates your dog. Some are more motivated by food, while others lavish the praise/attention they get when doing something right. Still others are motivated by toys... it really all depends on the specific doggie!! Good luck!

[Moo]

If you dog likes food, then all commands can be trained using food. If your dog couldn't care less for more food, then you'll have to come up with something else, as Weim said.

I do interest myself in watching other handlers train their dogs using different rewards. In my agility club, one will do anything for food, one will ONLY perform for Church's Fried Chicken, one will do anything for a game of tug (don't tug with young puppies!), and one plays for hugs.

Try it all, see what works best.

[Ken Nielsen]

Since you are new to this, invest in a good book or two on raising a puppy. Mine was chewing mine as I was sitting there, so I had to read fast...

Brian Kilcommons - "Good Dogs, Great Owners"

Jan Fennell - "The Practical Dog Listener"

These books say more than we could post on these forums, they are well worth the cost in the many insights they give.

For 'sit,' have the dog on leash standing in front of you. Hold the leash taught, and say 'sit' as you put a treat over the dogs nose, moving it back over his head so he must lift his head and sit as you keep moving the treat back. Just use a small piece of his dry dog food as the treat, his curiosity is also a part of the convincing that will get him to sit. Many trainers say 'no food' but a small amount to get the idea across is ok to give them the idea, then, move on to less treat and always follow up the correct behavior with lots of praise. Praise is the treat they should always get.

[southern_girl09]

A dog is never to young to learn. Fist, Get a treat and say sit and push his bottom to the floor and say good boy/girl and give it the treat. And repeat until he does it. DO NOT hit or yell. Firmly say sit and give the treat when he does it!

[AlphaMale]

Thanks all, I followed the technique above

I am amazed, He learned to sit in one session.

I bought a book "Every body can train their own dog" by Angela white. I am not impressed with the content.

[GretaJack]

Keep it up, every day. Don't get frustrated if he forgets. They learn so much in such a small amount of time, they get memory lapses. All it takes is 10-15 minutes a day working on commands such as sit, down, come, drop. Good work on a job well done.

[Ken Nielsen]

"I bought a book "Every body can train their own dog" by Angela white. I am not impressed with the content."

Go to Boarders or B. Dalton and look at the many dog training books. Check the titles I gave you above. I have tried these and they came 'veterinarian' recommended to me and have given me a lot of information that I now use.

Others you may want to look at include "The Art Of Raising A Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete, but I recommend the two in my post above as first rate for sure.