Puppy Basics: Learning “Sit” and “Down”
Sit and down are some of the first behaviors that GDB puppies learn. Our goal is to have the puppy understand and respond to the verbal cues “Sit” and “Down”. We want puppies to have fun while they learn. Set them up for success by following the steps below! This document has three parts:
Why It’s Important
“Sit” and “Down” are useful so we can communicate to our puppies when we’d like them to sit or lie down, and more easily manage them in public. It’s also a fun relationship building opportunity!
What You’ll Need
- Kibble
- Hungry pup that doesn’t need to relieve and isn’t tired
- Quiet area at home without distractions
Before “Sit” and “Down”: Luring and Pezzing
Some puppies don’t naturally understand how to follow food in your hand. Before we use a food lure to help them into different body positions, we can play a little game to set them up for success.
Start with several pieces of kibble in one hand.
- When the puppy goes to sniff the food in your hand, let them eat one of the pieces of kibble out of your hand like a PEZ candy dispenser (pezzing!).
- Move your hand a couple feet and encourage the puppy to follow the hand. Let them eat another piece every couple steps!
- If they get “stuck” and don’t follow your hand, you probably moved too quickly. Keep your hand close to the puppy’s nose.
- You will probably drop pieces of food at first – luring and pezzing is tricky! Try to pick up the food off the ground, but don’t beat yourself up if the puppy is occasionally faster than you and gets a freebie off the ground.
- The better you get at offering one piece of food at a time, the easier it will be for the puppy to take the food gently too!
Try to get them to move readily back and forth in front of you, or even in a circle around you! The goal of this game is to have fun and build the puppy’s confidence in moving to follow the food in your hand – and for you to get practice delivering one piece of food at a time without losing any fingers!
Watch this puppy learn how to follow a lure in the video below.
[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
Introducing a Lure. A person kneels on the floor with a young Golden Retriever puppy. They have kibble in one hand and place it up to the puppy’s nose. The person moves their hand across their body and the puppy follows, and gets a kibble. They repeat this using the other hand luring the puppy back-and-forth in front of them.
[MUSIC]
Teaching “Sit”
Start with several pieces of kibble in one hand. Guide the puppy into a seated position by:
- Luring the puppy’s head up with the kibble hand (a tasty food reward held near the puppy’s nose)
- Gently using your other hand to prompt the pup to tuck their rear end instead of backing up!
Reward the pup with a few pieces of kibble and use a happy voice when they sit. Encourage them to get back up so you can do it again!
As the puppy gets the hang of it, they should start sitting before you have to touch their rear. At this point, you don’t need the hand prompt anymore and you can add the verbal cue “Sit” right before you lure the puppy to sit.
Check out the video below demonstrating these steps in slow motion!
[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
A person stands outside with a black Labrador puppy. They have kibble in one hand and place it up to the puppies nose. The person raises that hand and touches the puppy's rear with their other hand. The puppy sits and gets the kibble. The person rubs the puppy's back and chest with both hands.
Teaching “Down”
Start with several pieces of kibble in one hand and the puppy already sitting. Guide the puppy into a down position by:
- Lowering the hand with kibble straight down towards the floor so that the puppy’s nose drops down towards the floor
- Gently using your other hand on the pup’s shoulders to prompt them to lower their body and not just their head
Reward the pup with a few pieces of kibble and use a happy voice when they lie down. Encourage them to get back up so you can do it again!
With some practice, the puppy will start offering to lie down before you touch their shoulders. At this point, you don’t need the hand prompt anymore and you can add the verbal cue “Down” right before you lure!
Watch the video to see how lightly the person touches the puppy's shoulders to prompt the pup to lie down!
[AUDIO DESCRIPTION]
A person kneels on the floor with a Golden Retriever puppy. They hold a kibble up to the puppy's nose and bring it down to the ground. The puppy lowers their head. The person gently touches the puppy's shoulders with their other hand. The puppy lies down and gets the kibble. The person rubs the puppy's face and ears.
What if...
- The puppy won’t follow the lure all the way into a down? When luring, keep the food hand right on the puppy’s nose like a magnet and feed the puppy for any movement following the lure (even if they aren’t all the way in position yet!) Especially with “down”, it may take a few practices of just getting the puppy to lower their head before they’re able to follow the lure all the way down.
- The puppy paws a lot to get the food? Try quickly lifting away the hand with kibble and wait for the pup’s paws to be on the floor before trying again. It usually only takes a few times for the pup to learn that pawing makes the food disappear!
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