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Training Your Dog

With most dogs it isn’t hard: Wave a piece of dried liver or some salmon jerky under that sensitive nose and you’ve got your dog’s attention! And attention is the first thing you need before training—and learning—can occur.

Now take that jerky (or some other treat) and move it back over the dog’s head—not up, just back. The dog’s nose should come up to follow the treat. Because of how a dog is built, when the nose goes up, the butt goes down. Your dog should sit to follow the cookie, without even thinking about it. Repeat this several times a day, and when your dog goes into a sit when you start to move your hand, you can put a word to the behavior, telling your dog to "sit." As British trainer/behaviorist/author Ian Dunbar has often pointed out, a dog who is sitting can’t be jumping up on people, or chasing the cat, or doing a lot of other things that make people unhappy. "Sit" is a tremendously useful behavior.

Using a food treat this way is using a "lure." You move the food to lure the dog into position. It works for lying down and standing up and a whole lot of more specialized behaviors.

Training your dog in the basics doesn’t have to equate to boot camp. Why should teaching your dog to sit be any less fun than teaching wave or roll over? Try it out!