Training Problem Finder: Two Questions, One Plan
Tell us your dog's stage and what you're working on. You'll get the cognitive reason the problem happens, a practice routine you can run today, and the guides and games that actually apply.
1Which stage is your dog in?
2What are you working on?
Your plan
Teaching a puppy to sit: mark first, name later
Puppies read gestures and body position long before they parse words. Attaching a verbal cue too early attaches it to nothing.
Lead dimension: Communication
Routine: Ten-rep capture sets
3 sets of 10 reps a day, under two minutes each
- Lure the sit with food moving up and back over the nose — no verbal cue yet.
- Mark the instant the rear touches the floor, then pay immediately.
- After 20 successful lures, fade the food from your hand and keep the same hand motion.
- Only once the hand signal works ten times in a row, say 'sit' half a second before the signal.
- Practise in three different rooms before expecting it outdoors.
Know when to progress: Eight out of ten correct responses to the verbal cue alone, in a quiet room, before adding distractions.
Read next
Games that support this routine
Train the dog in front of you
These routines assume a typical profile. Dognition's assessment shows where your dog actually sits across the five cognitive dimensions, so you can pick the method that lands first time.
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