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Teaching the SIT/DOWN commands without "JERK AND PULL" methods
Training the sit and the down can be easy when you follow the principle of guiding the dog into a behavior that HE wants to perform without jerking and pulling the dog around
It is very easy to teach a dog no matter what age to "sit" and "down". This can be done without jerking or pulling, usually, if you have a dog that likes treats. I prefer to think of the use of a treat as a "lure" rather than a "bribe". the trick is, firstly, to get the dog to watch your hand. The easiest way to do this is to find the treat he enjoys the most and teach him to watch that treat which is in your hand as you move your hand around....this is real similar to the "hide and seek" game a lot of people play when they are playing fetch with the dog....they will show the dog the stick...and pretend to throw it.
Take the treats which you are using and give the dog a couple of treats so as to determine that he is focusing on your hand. As soon as you see that he is focusing on the hand...here is what you do: If the dog is standing, position your hand with the treat in it directly over the top of his nose. Lift your hand above his nose and back over the top of his skull. Watch...his head will tilt back as you do this, and he will then SIT DOWN in order to see the treat immediately give him the treat! Do this several times and add the word "sit" as he is sitting. It won't be any time at all until he is sitting automatically as you raise the treat up above his nose. If the dog is already sitting, you will need to move away from him, move around, and so on, until he is again standing and then repeat the training so that he indeed learns the voice command "SIT" . (He wont learn this if you don't make him stand up and then "sit" again!)
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Gradually you will want to move the hand position so that as he begins to sit when you raise your hand, it will then become a hand signal that he will recognize...the typical hand signal for a sit command is a straight up palm outward hand signal.
Teaching the down with a treat as a lure begins the same way, with the treat in front of the dog's nose. However, this time you will drop the treat down directly from the front of his nose to between his front legs...and then drag the treat outwards away from the dog's body so that your hand has made the shape of the letter "L" . If he begins to raise his butt up rather than drop it down, you are making the L too "loosely". tighten it up..straight down, to between the dogs front legs, and SLOWLY straight out along the floor.
PRESTO...he will be down. Do not allow him to have the treat until he is actually DOWN on the floor. Keep the treat closed into your hand so he can only nuzzle your hand but can not have the treat until he is performing the desired behavior.
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