Installation Guide

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ANOTHER POSITIONAL COMMAND: SIT

The next command to teach is “Sit.” With this command, you tell your dog to sit and remain seated until it

receives another command. The leash applies pressure to the underside of the dog’s neck when you are training

it to sit. You are now working on a diﬀ erent pressure point. Pull straight up on the lead with your right hand and

push down on your dog’s butt with your left hand until its bottom hits the ground. Add a verbal “Sit” and release

the pressure on the leash. Pressure from the leash can be omitted when your dog is consistently sitting on verbal

commands. Later you will get into corrections and the steps you should follow to make things clear for your dog.

Repeat the “Sit” drill until your dog is happily driving nails with its rear.

Have you ever seen a dog sit sideways? It ﬂ ops down and comes to rest on one hip. This is a common occurrence

for lazy dogs and needs to be corrected. Pull up on the leash until your dog sits in a proper fashion. It may become

necessary to step forward if your dog will not align itself properly at ﬁ rst. Fight for the proper sit position now and

you won’t have to address this in the future when you are asking it to sit in the face of overwhelming distractions.

Now your dog has learned to come to you, walk comfortably beside you, and sit on command. It must concentrate

and use its brain as it learns these skills. Pay close attention to your dog’s focus, making sure that the training

sessions are not too long. Even though your dog’s brain is a sponge at this point, it can become oversaturated and

unable to receive anymore constructive information.

A FOLLOW-UP TO “SIT”: STAY

When you give your dog the “Sit” command, you’ve told it to sit and remain seated until it receives another

command. Many obedience programs no longer use the “Stay” command, believing it is redundant and not

necessary. However, it would be good for you to know how to condition for this command if your dog struggles with

remaining seated. To reinforce sitting, apply a light amount of upward leash pressure to its collar and command

“Stay” as you start to move away and toward the end of the leash. Your dog will likely get up and try to move with

you. If this occurs, stop it with “No,” reseat the dog with “Sit,” and repeat “Stay” with another upward tug on the

leash. It should not take too many corrections before your dog ﬁ gures this puzzle out. Should it continually refuse

to stay, add increasing amounts of leash pressure and stronger “No” commands until it obeys. You may need to be

more patient here than any other place. You have already conditioned your dog to move with you at heel as you

move away and many dogs think this is what you want now instead of remaining seated. Correction for mistakes,

rewards for positive responses, and repetition will quickly condition your dog to this command.

A DIRECTIONAL COMMAND: KENNEL

You will often require your dog to enter diﬀ erent areas and objects: airline crates, vehicles, buildings, boats, duck

blinds, and fenced areas are just a few examples. You will use the command “Kennel” to tell your dog to enter what

is in front of it. Always use the command “Sit” before you ask a dog to enter. If you give your dog a chance to sit and

look into the area it is being asked to enter, it will be far more likely to perform this skill without a ﬁ ght. By looking

into this area, your dog can see that the boogie man is not waiting inside.

What should you do if your dog decides it does not want to enter? You know it will give to the pressure of a leash,

so lead it into the proper area and command “Kennel.” Once in the correct place, stroke pup on the shoulder until

you see acceptance via the swallow response. Repeat this routine until you start to develop a conditioned response

to your command. Some dogs ﬁ ght this entry with a great deal of vigor. If your dog chooses this option, be sure to