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Sit
Lesson time 05:50 min
Sit is the most basic and vital skill for any dog—and the cornerstone of control.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Sit
Teaches Dog Training
Expert animal trainer Brandon McMillan teaches you his simple, effective training system to build trust and control with your dog.
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[00:00:00.00] [LIGHTHEARTED MUSIC] [00:00:15.22] INSTRUCTOR (VOICEOVER): The sit command is very easy to learn, and there's only two steps. Step number 1 is you want to step on the leash, and this prevents the dog from jumping up. It's very common-- when you hold a treat above the dog's head, they start jumping up and trying to grab the treat. Well, stepping on the leash prevents that. [00:00:31.09] Step number 2 is have the treat in your hand. Hold the treat in a 45-degree angle above the dog's head while saying sit at the same time. Suddenly the dog will put his butt down. Most dogs at first are going to start jumping for it. The leash is preventing that from happening. And what happens is after a few minutes the dog eventually puts their butt down. [00:00:50.50] Now, the question is, why does this work? Well, it's very simple. There's a detail here I want to point out, and it's very important. You want to make sure you hold the treat past the dog's line of sight above their head. What happens is, if they're standing on all fours and they can look at the treat, they're not going to sit. But if you bring it out of view, they can't see it. The only way they can logically see it is they have to put their butt down because it actually angles their head at a much higher position where now they can see the treat again. Once their butt is down, they're in the sit position. It's just that simple. [00:01:28.10] - So I'm going to go ahead and teach little Brodie here the basic fundamentals of the sit. All I'm going to do is take a treat and hold it about 6 inches from his head. You see what he's doing right here? He's jumping up and trying to grab it right out of my hands. Let me show you how to stop that. [00:01:48.88] All I'm going to do is take the leash, step on it right here. And I'm not going to step on it too tight because it'll force him down. I'm not going to step on it too loose because it'll still able him to jump. I'm going to find that middle balance right there. Now, from there, I'm going to wait for him to stop jumping. Hold the treat about 45 degrees over his head. Say the word "sit" and wait for him to calm down. And he's sitting for 3, 2 seconds-- that's a sit. Good. [00:02:11.07] That's as simple as it gets. It's one of the simplest commands to teach your dog. And again, I'm going to lure him with the treat. I'm going to step on it right around there, not too tight. I'm going to stop him from jumping. That's a sit. Perfect. That's a sit. Good, just like that. Once again, reset him. [00:02:27.57] I'm going to do this about 10 times. And by the 10th time, he should stop that little habit. Give me a sit. Again, 45-degree angle over the head with the treat about 6 inches away from his snout. And when he's in the sit position, I give it to him. Stepping on that leash is very important. It stops the jumping. [00:02:47.02] Again, we're going to reset just by simply walking back and forth really quick. Step on that leash. Hold it over ...
About the Instructor
The Emmy-winning host of "Lucky Dog", Brandon McMillan is an expert trainer dedicated to building relationships between humans and animals. In his MasterClass, Brandon shares his simple, effective training system to help you develop trust and control with your dog. From using commands like sit, stay, and down to fixing barking and digging, you’ll learn how to improve your dog’s behavior—and create a lifelong bond.
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Brandon McMillan
Expert animal trainer Brandon McMillan teaches you his simple, effective training system to build trust and control with your dog.
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