Training your Shih Tzu puppy is a crucial part of responsible dog ownership. One of the most basic commands that your Shih Tzu puppy will need to know is the sit command. This essential command teaches your puppy to sit down and stay in that position until released. In this blog post, I’d like to dive deeper into the steps required to teach the sit command.
Most puppies have no problem pleasing their owners and following simple commands especially if there’s a treat involved. The sit command can come in handy in a variety of situations. First of all, imagine you’re at the park and a rabbit is hopping around in the near distance. If your puppy knows the sit command you can potentially keep your puppy from running off after the rabbit.
Scenario number two, you’re hosting a Thanksgiving party at your home. Your new puppy loves to greet guests by jumping up on them. If your puppy knows the sit command you can protect Aunt Betty’s legs from getting scratched up. If you have control over your puppy he or she will be a lot safer in many situations. Below are the steps that are necessary to teach a puppy to sit.
Step 1: Set up the Training Environment
Before you begin to teach the sit command, it is important to make sure to properly set the stage for training. One important thing to consider is whether or not the area is free from distraction. Puppies don’t have a large attention span and may have trouble focusing on learning in an environment full of distractions. As your Shih Tzu puppy becomes a pro at learning various commands you can provide more challenging environments.
Step 2: Choosing the Best Approach
Deciding what training approach to use when teaching your Shih Tzu puppy to sit is important. I recommend Positive Reinforcement Training. I believe rewarding your Shih Tzu puppy for good behavior is a key to success.
Positive Reinforcement Training involves praising your puppy when he or she does something right and offering a tasty treat. The puppy learns to associate correct behavior with receiving a reward. In return, the puppy is more likely to follow the command. The use of punishment during training is never the solution and may be very harmful to your puppy.
Step 3: How to Teach the Sit Command
To teach the sit command to your Shih Tzu puppy follow the steps below:
Step 1: Hold a treat close to your puppy’s nose.
Step 2: Move the treat up, towards the puppy’s head, causing his or her butt to lower to the ground. As the puppy’s butt hits the floor, say “sit” and reward the puppy with the treat.
Step 3: Repeat this process at least once a day if possible. Each training session should be around 10 to 15 minutes. You can slowly reduce the use of the treat as the puppy starts to understand the sit command.
Step 4: Once your puppy has a solid understanding of the sit command be sure to continue to practice regularly. If you don’t use the command for a long time, your puppy may forget the command. In this case, you might need to do a short refresher training session.
In conclusion, there are many benefits associated with teaching puppies basic commands such as sitting. Teaching commands helps strengthen the trust bond between the puppy and the owner. More importantly, teaching basic commands can be life-saving for your Shih Tzu puppy. With Positive Reinforcement Training and a well-structured training approach, your Shih Tzu puppy can quickly become an expert at learning basic commands.
