How do I get my dog to sit with distractions?

Many dogs know the SIT command. But there is a difference between knowing how to SIT and sitting consistently on command. There is also a huge difference between a dog that will SIT when told to SIT, and a dog that will SIT and stay sitting even when there are distractions going on all around them.

You may think that if your dog knows the SIT command, you are good. But unfortunately this is not the case. Just because your dog knows the SIT command, does not mean that your dog will SIT every time you say SIT. It also does not mean that your dog will stay sitting when you walk away or when there is a distraction.

This type of training requires you to take your SIT training to a whole new level. And this doesn’t happen all by itself. Elevating your SIT expectations requires you, as the trainer, to put your dog in a variety of scenarios all while enforcing the SIT command. This is how you get your dog to sit even with distractions.

How to train SIT

Training your dog to SIT is straightforward training. As with any dog training, the first few times you say SIT, your dog will likely not do anything but look at you. Maybe not even look at you.

Dogs are trained through association. You say a word (a command) and manually enforce that command. For instance, to train SIT you say SIT and then push down on your dog’s bottom, or lift up on the collar forcing the dog’s bottom to the SIT position. You do this enough, and your dog learns that when you say SIT he should put his bottom on the ground.

That is why it really doesn’t matter what command you use, because the dog does not actually understand the meaning of the word, just the association that when you say SIT you expect him to SIT.

Teaching that SIT means STAY

Getting your dog to stay sitting is another thing altogether. Many people use the command STAY to teach their dog to stay sitting. And that is okay, although the STAY command should not be needed if you have truly taught your dog the SIT command.

The SIT command should mean to SIT until you give your dog another command. But few people enforece the SIT command to this level.

Why is my dog so reluctant to sit down?

Some dogs are very reluctant or stubborn to SIT. These dogs may require more pressure to get them to SIT or they may just SIT down ever so slowly. This is often your dog’s way to show of dominance.

For dog’s, sitting at your side with your towering over them, is a show of your dominance over the dog. And while this is how it should be, you’re the owner and you should be dominant over the dog otherwise they will not listen or respect you; many dogs are resistant to being dominated by their owner. So in a show of stubbornness they resist the SIT command.

There may be other reasons your dog is slow to SIT. For instance, if you are training your dog to SIT and the ground is wet from a recent rain, female dogs especially may be stubborn to sit their bottoms down on the cold wet surface. This is a different problem from the dominance issue above and can usually be corrected by working on dry gound instead of wet ground.

How do you train a dog that won’t sit still?

Some dogs are very excitable dogs. You probably know if your dog is this way. We are training one right now that I affectionately call the Tasmanian Devil. She comes out of the dog trailer a whirl of excitement, just like the Tasmanian Devil on the old cartoons. Okay, I dated myself with that reference. If you don’t know what I am talking about, Google Tasmanian devil Looney Tunes.

These excitable dogs are very difficult to train obedience. Their minds are racing just like their bodies and they struggle to pay attention for a few seconds let alone minutes. But they can be trained. It just takes a different approach and lot of patience.

Excitable dogs need to be worked up to minutes of sitting. You must start with getting them to sit for just a few seconds and slowly increase the time you expect them to sit still. You also have to be on your toes, ready to give a SIT corrections each time they move.

These dogs also require a lot of distraction training because they are so inside their own heads that they often think that if anything changes in the environment around them, they can move. Once you get your excitable dog to sit for more than 30 seconds, start adding some simple distractions such as moving your body while near them (i.e.; marching while standing right next to the dog), then work up to walking away and then moving into a squat at at a distance.

Teaching your dog to sit despite distraction.

The trick to teaching your dog to SIT despite distractions is to introduce distractions into your training. This starts with making sure you can make your dog sit still for more than a few seconds.

Increase the SIT time

Many dogs think SIT just means SIT their bottoms down and then they can get right back up. The first step is to increase the amount of time your dog will SIT. Now, I am not talking about having your dog sit still for hours. I am talking about 30 seconds and increasing to 2-5 minutes.

To increase the time your dog will SIT, simply have the dog SIT and then watch them very closely. If they start to move or stand up, command SIT. Make sure they sit exactly where you initially had them SIT. If they are able to move 2 inches closer to you, in their minds that is progress and they will be willing to risk moving again.

When your dog moves from the SIT, say NO, SIT, give a correction, and say SIT again. In this way we make sure that the dog is absolutely clear about why they got a correction and what you expect from them.

Move away from the dog

Once you have your dog sitting without moving for a couple minutes at a time, now you need to add some motion. Have your dog SIT and take a couple steps away from your dog. If this is too much and your dog won’t stay sitting, just march next to your dog. Again, watch closely, each time your dog moves give the SIT command, correction, and SIT command.

Work on this until you can move at least 5-6 feet from your dog and the dog stays sitting.

Add more body movement

Once your are able to move away from your dog and he remains sitting, you can add more distractions. I do silly things like wave my arms in the air, jump up and down, squat down facing the dog. All of these will unnerve your dog at first, but as you slowly introduce new movement your dog will learn to stay seated.

Remember, each time the dog moves, give the command, correction, command. We want to make sure the dog understands exactly what you expect him to do.

Add sounds to your SIT training.

When your dog starts to get comfortable with body movements, you can start adding noise or sounds. Many dogs will hear you speak and immediately break the SIT position. Command NO SIT and make sure they SIT back down where you originally had them SIT.

Add other noises such as clapping your hands, jingling your keys, patting your chest, and saying HEY, HEY. The more noise and distractions you introduce your dog to, the better SIT you will develop for your dog.

Add other people and dogs.

The ultimate distraction is other people and other dogs. These are much harder to train for. You may need to enlist some help from family or friends. But doing Sit obedience with this type of distractions will be worth its weight in gold.

If you don’t have someone to help you with this, then you are going to need to take your dog on walks or to places that they will be exposed to other people and dogs. And here’s the tricky part, and the part many people do not want to do because of fear of being judged. You must enforce and correct your dog for moving with the new distractions.

If you don’t give a correction, you have just undone all the hard work you have done up to this point. Once your dog figures out that you will not enforce the SIT command in these situations, he will not obey the SIT command when people or other dogs enter the picture.

Take the show on the road.

Once you have your dog sitting on command even when exposed to many distractions, it is time to take your dog out into the world of real distractions. If you have done a good job simulating these situations at home, your dog should understand what is required of him. Otherwise, this will definitely show you where your dog is weak and give your areas to work on.

Final thoughts on how to get my dog to sit even with distractions.

It is possible to teach your dog to SIT even in situations with a lot of distraction. But it doesn’t happen by chance. You must do the work teaching your dog through exposing them to situations and teaching them what you expect their behavior to be. Once you have done this, your dog will do much better when exposed to distractions.

If you are still struggling, I’m here to help! You can email me (ottertailkennels@gmail.com) or just give me a call (651-303-6459). I would be happy to discuss your goals for your retriever and tell you about the programs I offer.

Until next time, happy retrieving.

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