Dog Clicker Training - Training your Dog to Sit and Stay

Discover dog clicker training with your whippet. Find out how training your dog to sit and stay can be easy and fun.

Professional animal trainers found that the only effective way is the positive approach to training.

Rewarding the wanted action and ignoring everything else is much more efficient than training with traditional methods focused on punishment.

Clicker training builds a bond and becomes an efficient bridge of communication between people and animals.

During a session of dog clicker training a little device, a clicker, is used to produce a distinct sound that marks clearly the wanted action.

The first step is to teach the pet to associate the click with food rewards. Then, the click is used to mark the required action.

Clicker training is especially successful for whippets, hounds and independent thinkers that don’t like to bend to authority but happily accept a leader if gently guided.

Learning this new approach to dog training often changes also the way people think and act in their ordinary lives.

Focusing on positive reinforcement not only helps people to live and communicate with animals but can also promote a new way of thinking and a more open attitude toward other people.

Training your Dog to Sit

Whippets like most sighthounds don’t seem to appreciate the sitting position, they prefer laying down and snooze or be up and running.

Nevertheless, whippets too can be taught to sit and this eventually will become their way to ask for treats and praise.

Here is in few easy steps how to teach your whippet to sit with dog clicker training.

Step 1

Begin by giving your dog treats after clicking, this will teach your whippet to associate a click with a reward.

Then, with the dog in front of you, show him a treat and move it up and over his head. To follow your hand he will eventually have to sit.

If he moves backward, position him with his back to a wall.

Step 2

As soon as his bottom touches the floor, click to mark the wanted action, give him the treat and praise.

Step 3

Only when he begins to associate the treat over his head with the sitting position, start using the word “sit”.

When your dog sits reliably on command reduce the food rewards to keep him guessing and his attention alive.

Whippets are smart and soon they will learn that the polite way to ask for something is sitting first.

In this video you can find free basic dog training tips to see dog clicker training in action.

Training your Dog to Stay

To teach your dog this command, make him sit and placing the palm of your hand in front of his nose ask him to stay in a calm voice.

If he stands or moves, place him again in position.

At the beginning make him stay for few seconds then praise, release him with a word like “OK” and give him a treat.

Proceeding in the training you can prolong the stay and start moving away from the dog at an increasing distance.

To add interest, you can walk around the dog while asking him to stay.

Proceeding in your whippet training start practicing with distractions like other dogs or people.

Here is free dog training video to teach your dog to stay.

Click on this link for more about clicker training, dog Obedience Training, Best dog training methods for different dog breeds, dog separation anxiety, and free puppy training tips for potty training a puppy.

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