How to Teach Your Hunting Dog to Sit

By eHow Pets Editor

Instructions

Step 1:
Choose a good spot to begin training that does not have a lot of distractions. After your dog is reliably responding, you can practice in different spots with more distractions.
Step 2:
Position your dog so that he's facing you. Give him a treat or two to get his attention and make him look for more. Make sure that the treat is something that he likes.
Step 3:
Hold a treat above the dog's head and wait for the dog to move into a sit position. Some dogs will try to jump or move back at first, but if you hold the treat above and a little behind her eyes, sitting will be the most comfortable position for her to see the treat. At this point, you don't need to label the behavior.
Step 4:
Give your dog the treat and praise him once he's moved into the sit position, even for the shortest amount of time. If you're using a clicker, you should click and treat. Otherwise, you can mark the sit with a "Yes."
Step 5:
Label the action as "sit" once your dog is moving into the position reliably. At this point, give treats randomly for the behavior and have the dog sit without holding the treat above his head.
Step 6:
Introduce other markers for the action, such as a particular whistle, if you plan to use them in the field. Begin practicing the sit outside and in real life hunting situations.
Step 7:
Be consistent and keep the action a positive one for your dog. You dog should know that if you give a command, she needs to follow through. If she doesn't respond during the training to a sit command or two, gently help her into the position and then reward.

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