To teach your dog to sit, stand in front of them in a quiet room with a few small treats ready. Hold one treat at your dog's nose and move it slowly up and back over their head, keeping it just above their nose. As their head tips up to follow it, their rear end lowers. The moment their bottom touches the floor, say "yes" and give them the treat right away, at their nose, while they are still sitting. Then toss a second treat a few feet away so they stand up again, ready for the next try.
Add the word "sit" only after your dog sits easily when you make the same movement with an empty hand. Never push down on your dog's back or rear end. If sitting looks stiff, awkward or uncomfortable, stop and read the section on discomfort before you carry on.
This guide teaches the sit position and the cue that asks for it. Asking your dog to stay sitting for longer, until you release them, is a separate skill covered in the guide to teaching the stay command.
What counts as a sit
For this exercise, a sit means your dog's rear end rests on the floor while their front legs support them. Look for a position that seems comfortable for your dog. If their rear legs splay out to one side, sitting looks stiff or uncomfortable, or they start sitting differently, stop and contact your vet before practicing again.
A few words come up throughout:
- A lure is a treat held at your dog's nose to guide their movement. Their body follows their nose.
- A marker is a short word, such as "yes," that tells your dog the exact moment they got it right. In this guide, every time you say "yes," a treat follows. If you already use a clicker, the click can take the place of "yes."
- A cue is the signal that asks for the behavior. By the end, you will have a hand signal and the word "sit."
If you have never used a marker word, the guide to reward marker timing explains how to pair one with food first. It helps, but you can still follow this method by giving the treat the instant your dog's bottom touches the floor.
Get ready: a quiet room, a non-slip floor and small treats
Choose a familiar room where your dog is relaxed. Close the doors so other pets and family members are not wandering through, and so your dog cannot slip out of an open door. You do not need a leash; your dog should be free to walk away from the exercise. The American Kennel Club's guide to teaching sit recommends training when your dog is relaxed, somewhere without distractions.
Think about the floor. Some dogs are reluctant to sit on a slippery or cold surface. Battersea's guide to teaching sit suggests starting on carpet or grass, or putting a mat down on a hard floor. A rug that does not slide works well.
Prepare small, soft treats your dog likes, about the size of a pea. Keep them in a pouch, a bowl on a shelf or a pocket you can reach with either hand. Your dog should not be able to help themselves.
Decide how you will stand. With a medium or large dog, standing upright in front of them is usually fine. With a small dog, kneel or sit on a low stool, so your hand does not have to travel far above their head. Leaning over a dog from above can make some dogs back away, so keep your body relaxed and upright.
Pick a moment when your dog is interested in food but not frantic, and has had a chance to go outside to potty. Battersea recommends short, positive sessions. A handful of tries, then a break, is a complete session.
Guide your dog into a sit with a treat
Start with your dog standing in front of you, facing you.
Hold a treat between your thumb and fingers right at your dog's nose, so they can sniff it. Then move your hand slowly up and back, over the top of their head, toward their tail. Keep your hand close, just an inch or two (a few centimeters) above their nose, all the way.
Battersea and the AKC both describe this lure path: as your dog's head tips up and back to follow the treat, their rear end lowers to the floor. You are not pushing them into the position. The movement of their head makes sitting the comfortable way to keep their nose near the treat.
Watch their rear end, not their face. The instant their bottom touches the floor, say "yes."
Go slowly. If your hand moves fast or high, your dog is more likely to jump up at it or back away. The section on fixing common problems covers both.
Give the treat while your dog is still sitting
Right after "yes," give the treat from your lure hand at your dog's nose, while their bottom is still on the floor. Keep the treat at the height of their nose. If you lift it higher, they may stand or jump to reach it.
Timing matters as much as position. Give the treat before your dog stands up. The AKC points out that if you only hand over the treat after your dog pops back up, they learn to sit for a split second and stand straight away.
If your dog stands up the moment they hear "yes," give them the treat anyway. "Yes" is a promise of food, and keeping that promise is what makes the word useful. Next time, have the treat closer to their mouth so it arrives faster.
Toss a treat to start the next try
After your dog has eaten the treat, take another from your pouch and toss it on the floor a few feet (about a meter) away. Your dog gets up to eat it. That ends one try and puts them back on their feet, ready to sit again. The AKC suggests this kind of reset, either tossing a treat or walking away and calling your dog to you.
You do not need a release word in this exercise. You are not asking your dog to stay sitting, so standing up after the treat is fine. Release words belong to the stay, where your dog holds the position until you say they can move.
When your dog has eaten the tossed treat, let them come back to you, or take a step toward them so they are standing in front of you again. Then guide the next sit the same way.
One complete try looks like this:
- Your dog stands in front of you.
- Your hand moves slowly from their nose, up and back over their head.
- Their bottom touches the floor and you say "yes."
- They eat the treat at their nose while still sitting.
- You toss a treat a few feet away, and they stand up to get it.
Ask for a sit without showing a treat
Once your dog sits smoothly as your hand moves over their head, on most tries in a session, you are ready to hide the food.
Hold a treat in your other hand, down by your hip or behind your back. Make the same movement with your luring hand, now empty: from your dog's nose, up and back over their head. When their bottom touches the floor, say "yes," then bring the treat from your other hand to their nose while they are still sitting. Toss a treat to reset, as before.
Battersea and the AKC both describe this switch. The food has not gone away; it just comes from your other hand after the sit, instead of leading your dog into it. Your empty hand has become a hand signal.
If your dog looks at your empty hand and does nothing, go back to a treat in the luring hand for two or three tries, then try the empty hand again.
Once the empty hand works, make the movement a little smaller over several sessions. You might stop at the top of their head instead of moving back toward their tail. Later, a small upward flick of your hand, palm up, may be enough. Go back a stage if your dog starts to hesitate.
Add the word "sit"
Wait until your dog sits readily for the empty-hand signal before you add the spoken cue. If you say "sit" while your dog is still working out the movement, the word gets attached to guessing.
When you are ready, say "sit" once in an ordinary voice. Pause for about a second, then give the hand signal. The order is always the word first, then your hand. When their bottom touches the floor, say "yes" and give the treat at their nose.
After many repetitions, your dog learns that the word comes just before the signal. Many dogs start to sit as soon as they hear "sit," before your hand moves. When that happens, reward generously.
To check the word on its own, say "sit" and wait a few seconds without moving your hand, as Battersea suggests. If your dog sits, say "yes" and reward. If they do not, give the hand signal to help, then reward the sit. Avoid repeating the word, "sit, sit, sit," because your dog learns that the first few times do not matter.
Cut back on treats without confusing your dog
Two different changes happen to the food, and it helps to keep them apart.
The first is hiding the lure, which you have already done. Your dog stopped seeing a treat in your hand before they sat, but still got one every time you said "yes."
The second is handing out food less often. Leave this until your dog sits promptly when you say the word, in more than one room. Even then, change it gradually.
Give a treat every time you say "yes." Your dog has learned that "yes" means food is coming. Saying it without following through teaches them that the word means nothing.
To use fewer treats, change what you say rather than what "yes" means. On some sits, skip "yes" and give relaxed praise instead, such as "good dog," with a scratch if your dog enjoys it. On others, say "yes" and give a treat as usual. Battersea suggests saving food for the quickest or best sits and using praise, toys or everyday rewards, such as going for a walk, at other times. A sit before you clip on the leash for a walk is one natural example.
Do not stop food suddenly as a test. Go back to "yes" and a treat for every sit whenever you practice somewhere new or harder.
Help a dog who finds sitting awkward
Not every dog finds sitting easy or comfortable. Battersea notes that some breeds, such as greyhounds and dachshunds, may find the position awkward.
If sitting looks uncomfortable, stop and contact your vet before trying these adaptations. The suggestions below are for dogs who can practice comfortably; do not use partial sits or a different position to work around suspected pain.
Reward a partial sit first
If your dog lowers their rear part of the way and then stops, say "yes" and reward that. On later tries, wait for a little more before you mark, until their bottom reaches the floor. Battersea recommends slowing down and rewarding small movements toward a sit for dogs who find it awkward.
Choose a different position if sitting stays uncomfortable
If your dog still seems uncomfortable, you do not have to insist on a sit. Battersea suggests teaching a lie down instead, or standing still, for dogs who find sitting uncomfortable. The guide to teaching your dog to lie down covers that cue, and it can start from a stand.
Reward sits your dog offers on their own
Some dogs back away or seem worried when a hand moves over their head. For these dogs, you can wait for a sit instead of guiding one. Keep a few treats in your pocket. When your dog sits on their own, say "yes" and give a treat at their nose while they are still sitting. Battersea and the AKC both describe rewarding sits a dog offers this way.
Many dogs start sitting in front of you more often once they discover it earns treats. When you can predict a sit, say "sit" just before it happens, then mark and reward. Before switching to this approach, check that discomfort is not the reason your dog avoids the lure.
Fix common sit problems
Your dog jumps up at your hand
Your hand is probably too high. Bring the treat lower so it stays just above their nose, and move more slowly. If your dog keeps jumping, practice when they are calmer, such as after a walk.
Your dog backs up instead of sitting
Your hand may be moving too far back or too fast, so your dog walks backward to follow it. Slow down and keep the treat close to the top of their head.
For example, a young adult dog on a kitchen floor might scoot backward each time his owner moves the treat over his head. His owner moves the session onto a rug, kneels so her hand starts lower, and moves the treat back only as far as the top of his head. This time his rear dips partway, so she says "yes" and gives the treat at his nose. Over the next few tries he sits fully. She keeps the shorter movement and leaves the kitchen tiles until the sit is easy on the rug.
Your dog stands up as the treat arrives
Check where and when the treat appears. It needs to reach their nose while their bottom is still on the floor. Have it ready closer to their mouth.
Your dog only sits when they can see food
Go back to the empty hand, with the treat in your other hand by your hip. Keep giving a treat after every "yes" so your dog learns that food still comes.
Your dog sits for one person but not another
Check that everyone uses the same word and the same hand signal. Each person can run a few easy tries with treats.
Stop practice if sitting may hurt
Sometimes a dog who avoids sitting, or sits in an unusual way, is uncomfortable. VCA Animal Hospitals' guide to signs of pain in dogs includes several signs related to sitting and posture:
- Sitting with the rear legs splayed out to one side, instead of tucked underneath.
- Preferring to lie down rather than sit when stopping during a walk.
- Groaning or grunting when standing up or lying down.
VCA advises bringing changes like these to your veterinarian's attention. Stop practicing the sit and contact your vet if you notice any of them, or if a dog who used to sit easily now hesitates or sits differently.
Do not use tastier treats to get your dog past a position that may hurt. Taking food does not prove a dog is comfortable. For older dogs or dogs with arthritis, Battersea advises keeping sessions gentle and not repeating the movement too often, and speaking to your vet if sitting is uncomfortable. Ask your vet whether a stand or a lie down would suit your dog better before you resume.
Force has no place in teaching a sit. The AKC advises against pushing down on a dog's hind end. The AVSAB position statement on humane dog training recommends reward-based methods for all dog training and lists physical force and forceful manipulation among the techniques to avoid.
Practice sit in new places
Once your dog responds comfortably to sit, you can also teach a separate stand cue. Practice each position on its own before asking your dog to switch between them.
Your dog may need help responding to "sit" in the kitchen, the yard or on a walk, even when they know it on the living room rug.
Change one thing at a time. Battersea suggests practicing with you in different positions, such as sitting on a chair or standing beside your dog instead of in front of them. If your dog moves around to face you, use the hand signal to help. Add distractions separately from those changes, starting with something mild and rewarding often.
When you move to a new place, make the exercise easier again. Use the hand signal with the word, say "yes" and give a treat for every sit, and keep the session short. Try another quiet room first, then the yard, then a quiet spot outdoors with your dog on a leash if the area is not securely fenced. If your dog cannot sit somewhere busy, move farther from the distraction or go back to a quieter spot. The guide to why your dog listens at home but not outside explains this in more detail.
For your next session, start with the easiest version your dog can do. If they still need the treat lure, practice that on a rug in a quiet room. If the lure is easy, try a few sits with an empty hand and the treat in your other hand. If the empty hand is easy, say "sit" once and pause before you move your hand.