"Sit" and "Down" is not Obedience

Sit and Down by itself is not obedience!

So many times I hear people say, my dog has obedience, they can sit and lay down on command!

And then I say okay great, how long can your dog hold a command for?

Most people before they start training with me will say “only a few seconds”, or “they will sit or lay down until they see something tempting or see people then get up.”

Then when I ask them what their release word for the command is they give me a blank stare. ;-)

Most people completely misunderstand that in order to have a proper SIT and DOWN obedience command, that the entire point of having obedience, is to have them STAY in command until you RELEASE them.

If your dog only does the position and pops out of command when distractions are present you, you haven't taught your dog self-control, you've only taught them what you want them to do for this moment.

Sit and Down on their own are not your dog understanding a full command, they are just understanding a POSITION that you taught them to do.

People usually train their dog to sit, then reward with a treat, and that’s it.  Then they let them get up and move around.

If your dog only gets PAID for sitting or laying down initially, there is no understanding of what comes next, and you’re giving them no reason to stay in that position.

Your dog should always always always stay in command until released!

It should look like this

“Sit” -> Dog sits and holds command  until owner gives release cue “OK!” or “Free!”

“Down” -> Dog lays down and holds down command until owner gives release cue

Without this entire process, your dog has no idea what you want them to do past the initial position.

THIS IS WHAT BUILDS SELF CONTROL. The action of sitting in a position does not change your dog’s ability to manage their emotions, all it teaches them is how to go into the position. In fact, consider their position alone only 25% of the entire obedience process.

When I refer to using obedience as a way to teach impulse control, it requires you to finish the obedience command process.

Some people call the finished product, a “bomb-proof” dog. Meaning, your dog will sit and down on command even if a bomb went off and will still hold position and look to you and wait to be released.

On a more real note, this just means that you have “proofed” your dog against the temptations of the world and they know how to control their urge to get out of position when they experience distractions and temptations.

If you want your dog to see you as their leader, develop more self control, reliability, emotional regulation, you need them to learn how to sit or down and wait to be released. Every. Single. Time.

This is what dog trainers mean by being consistent.

Consistency is teaching your dog that you will expect the same behavior from them each time, and that you don’t change the rules and confuse them.

Asking them to sit or down, then sometimes letting them pop out of command and run off and sometimes having them be accountable to the command is inconsistent. Being inconsistent is confusing for your dog.

This requires you to be able to remember how to communicate this to your dog and build new habits.

And just like learning any new skill, practice develops your skills and forms new habits by creating muscle memory.

The best way to do this is to film yourself training your dog, when you watch it back, you have a better idea of your body language and what you’re doing and can learn from this a lot easier.

You’ll notice things that you didn’t notice before because you were too worried about your dog to remember.

This is why obedience relies heavily on using the leash to build compliance over time without your dog running off into the distance when they are not ready to be trusted yet.

The leash is your friend, and if you want off leash obedience, you need on-leash obedience first! Meaning you need to use the leash to reinforce what you’re teaching enough times for you and your dog to build a habit of what they are doing. Then you can learn to drop the leash and expect that they will understand because you’ve taught them more clearly.

So this is why JUST teaching your dog a position like sit or down, is not the obedience command itself, the entire point of teaching the position is so you can pay them while they stay or reward them when they wait to be released by you.

To learn how to build a stay in your obedience, see my blog post "Teaching the Stay".

To learn more about the leash and how it is used in obedience, see my blog post on "Leash Pressure".