Chaos Critters Leash Lessons: Sit

The First Leash Lessons covers how to teach your puppy to sit. Anna provides written instructions. Then she provides a video demonstration and then verbal instructions. More puppy pictures.

My new computer came in! Yay! So, I am back up and running, which means blogging, editing, and hopefully writing new stuff. Speaking of new stuff, as most of you that have been following the blog know, we have a new puppy in our life, Dante. While I am going through the process of training him to all the basic commands I thought it would be good to “record” how I do it. I tend to like to see things written out when I am learning, and to have a step by step visual.

Therefore, to help myself and to share with everyone the joys of having a new puppy. I am introducing a sections of our blog called “Leash Lessons”. These will be how to teach a your critter to do something. This will be in rotation with other random topics in Chaos Critters. Because life is random and chaos is as chaos does.

Still, when you see Chaos Critters Leash Lessons the segment is going to review some aspect of dog training. These will be a little more formal than my normal dog or life rambles and focused on training, including tips and tricks that I have picked up over the last few years training. I am hoping eventually that I can add a few occasional blogs authored by other dog trainers later, but that is much later.

Note: I am not a professional instructor. However, dog training and behavior are a hobby I am very passionate about and I am always trying to learn more.

So, I wanted to start off by asking what topic my readers which tricks or training you would like to see most in the future. We might need to work up to the suggestion but I have two beautiful puppies ready and willing to help, as well as the husband and master of all things tech. We will start with the first 10 basic commands for well behaved dogs and work from there.

Teaching your newest critter to sit.

Teaching your furry friend to sit is like giving you a little superpower. After all, how often if ever does someone listen to you fully! However, to do it you need to sprinkle in treats, praise, and patience. Possibly lot of patience. It helps with humans too, but I am not so good with that after all humans aren’t as cute as puppies or kitties.

After the text instructions, we have a video with a demo and an instructional walkthrough.

The Process

1. Find the quiet spot
   Choose a cozy corner of your home, yard, garage. Basically you want a distraction free or at least “light” zone. Grab some tasty treats (if you know what their favorite treats are even better). If you have been or plan to use a clicker you can… If you are into that. I personally dislike the sound and would rather “mark” with my voice.

2. Get your pup’s attention
   Let the puppy smell the treat and get them looking at it. So the smellier the treat the better…

3. The Lickable Lure
   Slowly raise that treat above your pup’s head and a little towards their back. Watch as their head lifts up and—ta-da!—their bottom goes down! (Unless they try to jump for it, then try keeping the treat a little closer to they don’t feel the need to “jump up”. It should be pretty close to their nose almost licking distance.)

4. Celebrate the Moment
   The moment their rump hits the floor, shower them with praise and give them the treat! If you’re using a clicker, click right when they sit to let them know they nailed it!

5. Repeat the Fun
   Keep the good times rolling! Practice this a few times. Now the number of times will depend on your pup or critter. With my Newfie I only every do something two or three times in a row. By the third he usually is bored. My Mini American on the other hand… he wants to keep working until the cows come home. But I still usually switch it up. Remember to keep it light and fun and don’t expect them to get it right away.

6. Say “Sit!”
   Once your pup is a pro at sitting with the treat lure, it’s time to introduce the magic word! Say “sit” just before you raise the treat. Soon, they’ll associate the word with the action!

7. Practice Makes Perfect
   Keep practicing in different places and with distractions. Each time your pup sits, reward them! You’re building a superstar!

Chaos in Action

Tips for a Pawsitive Experience

• Short and Sweet: Keep those training sessions to about 5 minutes for a young puppy and maybe up to 15 minutes for an older dog. You want your pup to stay excited, not bored! Also change it up. Don’t just have them do sits for 15 minutes straight. Think how bored you would be…

• Patience is Key: If they’re not getting it right away, don’t worry! Break it down or try a different approach such as rewarding when they naturally sit. Every critter learns at their own pace!

• Shaping not pushing: While sometimes people will suggest shaping, by scooping up the back legs this doesn’t work well for small handlers with large dogs. Which is why I started avoiding it, but beside that it also can be hard on the dogs joints, turn into a wrestling match or make them resistant. Force is not the answer.

• Mix Up the Rewards: I actually have to change up not just which treats I use for my Newfie but also switch between treats and toys. Consider if you would want the same candy every day for every reward? (Or for guys, if your fiancé or wife want you to cook the exact same meal every day for a month. -Tod) I know I don’t.

• Keep them enthusiastic. If that means you both need a break or to change it up sooner, that is better than working yourself into a hole or getting upset. Keep them motivated and keep yourself happily calm! They can tell.

Tip of the Week

When your dog sees a squirrel, remind them to sit. It’s a lot safer than watching them launch themselves into orbit like a furry rocket. If your dog does launch into orbit, try renting out launch space - SpaceX does have a branch in Texas. Just saying.

Extra tip from Tod. Always triple check that your phone is recording video. Check between every video. Really, just check it all the time.

Critter’s Weekly Question

I asked this earlier in the blog, but if you made it this far, maybe you have had time to think of an answer. Which tricks or training instructions you would like to see most?

Writing Notes

Tod has been cranking out the works while my computer was out of commission. He has finished his first draft of the Nano-Sapiens novel, cranked out a 1000 word short we submitted last week, and did a 2000 word short I need to do a pass on this weekend.

For the Nano-Sapiens novel, I need to triple the length. But Tod’s first draft provides me with a good starting point. My goal is still to finish the other novel by the end of the year. But man, his output of first drafts is almost more than I can keep up with. Usually I am able to at least exchange a one of my drafts for his, but recently it is like he has a rocket under his fingers as he types of away.

Tod here - we discovered I can write a quick version that gives Anna the equivalent of detailed, in-depth outline. She then applies her special version of chaos to the story, expanding it and making it more interesting and exciting. I think the short version is a lot easier to write.

~Anna and Tod