STEP FIVE - 2’fers and 3’fers - Asking for more before the dog gets a treat

1) With dog standing, give him the hand signal (hand held with palm up) and say the cue word "SIT"

2) The INSTANT his butt touches the ground, say GOOD SIT. Pet and Praise. Ask for two or three sits in a row (or a mix of the commands he has learned so far like SIT, DOWN - treat or STAND, SIT, DOWN - treat) before giving him a treat this time. He needs to learn to obey you even when no treat is coming. He will learn that eventually he will get a treat, he just might have to work a little harder to get it.

By now the dog should be sitting with the hand signal and cue word, with or without a treat in your hand. You can begin to have him sit randomly at different times, different situations, with different amounts of distractions going on around him. Once he is on CUE always make him sit when you ask him to. Never repeat a command more than once. If he doesn‘t respond because of distractions, gently press his butt into a sit and PRAISE him for sitting, even though you made him sit. He needs to understand that "Sit" means "SIT" every time you say it..

POINTS TO REMEMBER

1) Timing is important

2) Always say Good Sit followed by Petting and Praising. He should always be praised for being good. By saying "good sit" after he sits it reinforces in his mind what he’s getting praised for.

3) NEVER repeat a command. If the dog doesn’t do it on the first command, you can gently put pressure on his butt to remind him to sit. ONE COMMAND - ONE RESPONSE from the dog followed by PRAISE.

The Stand Command

You can also teach the "STAND" command the same way you teach the sit. The steps are the same.

When would you use the Stand Command?

When you want to groom your dog. Teach him to stand still while you brush him.

When you want him to stand so he can be examined by the vet.

When you want him to stand and look pretty to show him off.

The stand command is not the most commonly used command, but it does have it’s usefulness.

The technique for luring the stand is a little different. Start with the dog sitting in front of you. Hold the food lure in front of his nose so he can smell it. Slowly draw the lure away from his face so he has to stand up to reach it. Click and Treat and Praise him for the behavior. Remember to do it the INSTANT he stands up. Timing is very important.

Continue working him using the same steps as in the sit. Just use the CUE word STAND for the behavior.

You're making progress. Now that you've got the sit and the stand commands mastered you can move on to the the Down Command.