Sit from Stand
Positions · 12 steps · by Push Drop Stick
Your Dog will learn to sit from a standing position for a hand signal and the verbal cue 'Sit'. A reliable sit is the foundation for stays, polite greetings, and waiting at doors, so it is a great first behavior to teach.
Once Your Dog knows it, fold sit into daily life: ask for one before meals, before the leash clips on, and before saying hello to people, then let the everyday reward (dinner, the walk, the greeting) pay for it. Say the cue once and give Your Dog a second to think.
No prerequisites. You will need a handful of soft treats to use as a lure.
Training steps
Raise head for lure
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Hold a treat right at Your Dog's nose and slowly move it up and slightly back toward their forehead, prompting them to lift their head. The instant they do, give them the treat. If Your Dog backs up, do not follow. Instead, practice with their rear a step from a wall or tucked into a corner.
Success: Your Dog raises their head.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Raise head for 1 second
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Hold a treat at Your Dog's nose and move it up and slightly back, prompting them to lift their head and hold it there for 1 second. As soon as they do, give them the treat. Keep the lure low and close to their nose so Your Dog rocks their weight back instead of stretching up or stepping backward.
Success: Your Dog raises their head for 1 second.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Raise head for 3 seconds
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Hold a treat at Your Dog's nose and move it up and slightly back, prompting them to lift their head and hold it there for 3 seconds. As soon as they do, give them the treat. If Your Dog starts standing taller or stepping back instead of rocking onto their hindquarters, the lure is too high. Keep it low and just over their head.
Success: Your Dog raises their head for 3 seconds.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Raise head and bend back legs
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Hold a treat at Your Dog's nose and slowly move it up and back over their head, so their weight rocks onto their hindquarters. Watch their back legs, and the moment they bend even slightly, give them the treat.
Success: Your Dog raises their head and bends their back legs.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Lure into a sit against a wall
Setup: Your Dog is standing with their rear a step from a wall or in a corner.
Set Your Dog up with a wall just behind their rear, or tucked into a corner, so stepping backward is blocked. Hold a treat at their nose and slowly move it up and back over their head. With nowhere to back up, they will fold into a sit. The instant their rear touches the floor, give them the treat. Once this is easy, try a rep or two away from the wall.
Success: Your Dog sits.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Lure from stand into sit
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Hold a treat in front of Your Dog's nose and slowly move it up and over their back. Be careful not to raise the lure too high, which can encourage jumping. As soon as Your Dog puts their rear on the floor, give them the treat. If you need to reposition Your Dog for the next rep, you can either toss a treat or lure them from a sit back up into a stand (see the Stand from Sit plan).
Success: Your Dog sits.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Bury the lure
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Bury the lure in the hand you are using to prompt Your Dog by holding it against your palm with your thumb. Lure them into a sitting position, but give them a different treat from the opposite hand or your treat pouch (do not give them the buried lure).
Success: Your Dog sits.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Large hand signal
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Repeat the luring motion with your hand (palm facing up), from their nose up and back over their back, without a treat in your hand. Hold your hand in position above Your Dog and wait to see if they sit. When they do, give them a treat from the opposite hand or your treat pouch.
Success: Your Dog sits.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Medium hand signal
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Prompt Your Dog into a sit by making a medium-sized hand signal that resembles the large hand signal, and wait to see if Your Dog sits. When they do, give them a treat from the opposite hand or your treat pouch.
Success: Your Dog sits.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Small hand signal
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Prompt Your Dog into a sit by making a small hand signal that resembles the large hand signal and wait to see if they sit. When they do, give them a treat from the opposite hand or your treat pouch.
Success: Your Dog sits.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Add the verbal cue
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Say 'Sit', pause for 1 second, then (if needed) prompt Your Dog into a sit with a small hand signal. As soon as Your Dog sits, give them a treat from the opposite hand or your treat pouch.
Success: Your Dog sits for a verbal cue.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Only the verbal cue
Setup: Your Dog is standing.
Say the verbal cue 'Sit' and then just wait to see if Your Dog sits. Do not use the hand signal. If Your Dog sits, give them a treat.
Success: Your Dog sits for a verbal cue.
Advance on: 4 of 5 successes
Nice work! Your Dog can now sit from a stand for a small hand signal and for the word 'Sit' on its own. That is a real foundation skill.
To make the sit rock solid, proof it: restart the plan on the proof steps, or play the goal games you just earned, in new places and around bigger distractions.
Ready for more? Down from Sit and Sit Stay both build straight from here, and a reliable sit is most of the way to polite greetings, which you can build with the Four on the Floor plan.