Training A Puppy"Learn How To Teach Your Cocker Spaniel To 'Sit!'"
How To Train A Puppy To 'Sit' At Your Command Before you begin training a puppy, it's important to find a quiet spot, away from distractions. Call your puppy's name and, when he comes over to you, use the 'Watch' command to get his full attention. Pick up a treat and hold it between your fingertips. Hold your hand out towards your puppy's nose, with your palm facing upwards. Let your puppy sniff the treat, but don't let him have it. Don't say anything to him, just wait. Your puppy will eventually sit down. As soon as his bottom touches the floor, say the word 'Sit' and give him his treat and lots of praise. Training a puppy to 'Sit' in this way, means he'll soon begin to associate the word 'Sit' with his bottom touching the floor and will soon learn to sit when you ask him to. The movement of your hand towards your puppy's nose will eventually serve as a visual 'sit' command for your puppy during subsequent puppy training sessions. If your Cocker Spaniel fails to sit when asked, you could try the following technique, which works equally well. As before, hold your hand out towards your puppy's nose, treat between your fingers, palm facing upwards. As he moves to sniff the treat, lift your hand higher, and slightly back towards his tail - not too high though, otherwise he will try to jump up or 'beg' for the treat. As your hand moves over his head, your puppy's nose will follow the treat. As he does this, he will lift his head upwards and slightly backwards and, in doing so, his bottom will automatically move towards the floor and he will naturally end up in a sittting position. Just as your puppy's bottom touches the floor, say the command word, 'Sit', let him have the treat, and praise your puppy with, 'Sit, good sit!' When training a puppy, it's important to remember that the rewards, praise and treat, need to be given very quickly so that he can associate his actions with the rewards. Repeat the training exercises between 5 and 10 times each day for a week until he's mastered the 'Sit' command. We recommend you reinforce puppy obedience training at every opportunity before: feeding; answering the door; petting; giving him his favourite toy, and before putting your puppy on his lead. When you feel your Cocker Spaniel puppy has mastered the 'Sit' command, try using the verbal and visual commands separately, to see if your puppy understands. If he fails to get it right, continue with the training, and test him again later. When training a puppy, it's important the you don't offer him a treat every time he sits, as this will teach him to follow commands only when food is offered. Instead, occasionally reward your puppy with extra praise, and a stroke or a gentle scratch under the chin. If you remove treats altogether, continue to reward your puppy with praise and affection, as this will act as positive reinforcement in the absence of treats. Your praise and affection will be suffficient reward for your puppy. When training a puppy, don't be tempted to move on too quickly - wait until you're certain that he's learned each lesson, and can follow either verbal or visual commands, and without the presence of a treat. If your puppy fails to follow a previously learned command, don't repeat the command word over and over again, as this will only teach your puppy that he doesn't need to act on the first command; he will believe it's okay to sit on the third or fourth command. Learn more puppy training tips or more about puppy obedience training here. Training A Puppy To 'Stand' On Command Don't forget to continue to reinforce all puppy obedience training lessons at every opportunity! When your puppy has mastered the 'Sit' command, he'll be ready to advance his puppy training and move on to training a puppy to 'Stand' on command.
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