Dogs
How to Teach an Older Dog to Sit?
--
Table of Contents
· How Do You Teach a Stubborn Dog to Sit?
· What Are the 7 Basic Dog Commands?
· How Do You Teach an Old Dog Basic Commands?
· What Age Do You Teach a Dog to Sit?
It is definitely easier to teach and educate a puppy than a grown dog; but while a lot of people think it is useless to teach an old dog new tricks it is definitely doable as long as you have patience and a will. In this article, we aim to help you learn how to teach an older dog to sit.
Before starting, keep in mind that you will need loads of patience and that positive reinforcement works much better than negative reinforcement. Never lose your patience, scream, or worse, hit the dog. Hold a treat that your dog loves in your hand, make it known to him or her that you are holding it. Say “Sit” loud and clear, and gently push the hind legs of the dog, or their hips, so they will assume a sitting position. Once they are seated, give them the treat and let them know they did a good job. Repeat this and say “Sit” in the same tone and cadence, in a firm but not angry voice; and feed them a treat. Soon, your dog will need no guidance and they will sit without you needing to use pressure. At that point, start offering positive reinforcement by petting them or calling them a good boy instead of using treats. In no time, your dog will follow your commands but patience is key to success.
How Do You Teach a Stubborn Dog to Sit?
One thing that might concern you is how fast your dog is learning and how well they are listing to you. It’s quite natural for some dog owners to want their dogs to learn fast and listing well but we have to be patient especially with a stubborn dog. Stubborn dogs are the ones you have to be most patient with especially if they are not listening to you. Remember that it's ok if you have used treats for a lot longer than you would have because you want them to pay attention to you and your commands. Traning a dog requires one on one interaction, treats, and patience especially in their first year of training. Try to do everything you can for your dog in this first year, so you can lay some down good groundwork for future training. Make sure you give every reason for that stubborn dog to be motivated to listing to you and your commands.
What Are the 7 Basic Dog Commands?
There are so many commands that a dog should know. Don’t you ever wonder what are the most crucial commands that every dog should learn? If you want your dog to be obedient and listing to you then you need to teach them the following commands. These command areas follow sit, down, stay, come, and heel. Some might try to include no, stop, or off but that really depends on the individual owners and their dogs. It’s good to have a well-trained and behaved dog because it can cause fewer problems in general.
How Do You Teach an Old Dog Basic Commands?
The oldest trick is still the best that’s why positive reinforcement is very good for old dogs that need to be trained and it never seems to fail. I would recommend starting with the most basic commands like ‘sit’ and ‘come’ so that you are not putting too much on your dog. Try to use treats and train them in an area that they are used to being in so that they can be as comfortable as possible but do make sure that the room is not too distracting to them. Older dogs are going to also require a lot more patience from you as well so beware.
What Age Do You Teach a Dog to Sit?
When it comes to trying to teach your dog the most important thing you should consider is their attention span. That’s why trying to teach puppies can be difficult because of the short attention span they have and the same thing can be said for an old dog. The best time to teach then is around 7–8 weeks of age but do keep in mind that the age for formal dog training is around 6 months of age, it really depends on your dogs and yours as well. I recommend you start with the basics like ‘sit’, ‘come’, and ‘stay’ these are great for building a good foundation with your dog.
If you enjoy reading stories like these, then subscribe and follow for more. You can also explore other creators on Medium but consider signing up to become a Medium member to read unlimited stories.
