SitDog puts their rear on the ground and holds it
The first real cue for most dogs, and the one where people first teach a lure they never fade. Get to the hand signal fast: a dog that only sits for a visible treat has not learned to sit.
Also known as: Bottom Down, Plant
At a glance
- Tier
- 0 · Foundational
- Time to fluency
- 1–3 weeks
- Practice
- 6× per week, 5 min each
- Equipment
- Small soft treats, Optional: clicker
How to teach sit
Lure
Treat at the nose, up and back over the head
- Keep the treat touching their nose as you move it
- Up and BACK, not just up. Up alone makes them jump
- Mark the moment the rear touches down
- Deliver the treat at their mouth so they stay sitting
- Fade after 5–6 successful reps, not 5–6 days
Hand Signal
Flat palm, upward sweep
- Make the same motion with an empty hand
- If the dog stalls, shrink the lure rather than bringing it back
- Reward from the other hand
- Practise standing, sitting, and crouched. Dogs read your posture as part of the cue
Verbal Cue
The word, then the gesture, then reward
- Word first, gesture a beat later. The word must predict the gesture
- Once fluent, drop the gesture and wait 3 seconds before helping
- Say it once, then wait. Repeating teaches a slower response
- Re-teach in each new room and outdoors; it does not generalise for free
Success criteria
- Unlearned
- No sit on cue
- In progress
- Sits on the word alone, no gesture, indoors
- Mastered
- Sits on the word in a busy park, holds until released
Common mistakes
- Never fading the lure, leaving a dog that only sits for visible food
- Pushing the dog's rear down, which most dogs resist by bracing
- Repeating the word until the dog complies
- No release cue, so the dog decides when sit is over