How to Train Your Boston Terrier Dog to Sit

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How to Train Your Boston Terrier Dog to Sit

Medium

1-3 Weeks

General

Introduction

Your Boston Terrier comes with a reputation of being stubborn but highly intelligent. Boston Terriers are gentle pups who love affection, and while pleasing their owners might not be top on their list, with some motivation, teaching yours to sit is easy to do.

Boston Terriers make great family dogs because they are kid-friendly, accepting of strangers and new people in their lives, and adapt well to change. Training your Boston Terrier to sit is a great start to beginning obedience training. Teaching basic obedience commands from an early age will also teach him to respect you and your authority within your pack.

Teaching your Boston Terrier to sit is going to start with some high-value treats and end with your pup following your commands. This is a great trick to teach your dog before you teach him anything else. Use the 'sit' command as a building block for basic obedience training.

Defining Tasks

Boston Terriers are highly intelligent dogs and eager to please. Your Boston Terrier can learn how to sit in a few simple training sessions. Keep his sessions short, however, because your pup may become bored and stop learning if he's not fully engaged. You can teach an older rescued or adopted Boston Terrier to sit just about as easily as you can teach a puppy to sit. Training the 'sit' command will be more about repetition and rewards than anything else. Repeating this command will condition your Boston Terrier to connect the word with the action and the treat reward with your command.

Getting Started

To start training the sit command to your Boston Terrier, grab some tasty treats and schedule some short training sessions with your little guy. Keep your training sessions short and focused only on the 'sit' command until he has that one down. Be sure to reward him throughout training and make learning fun so he continues to come back to learn more.

The Sit With Pup Method

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Step

Start sitting

Sit on the floor with your Boston Terrier. Place yourself in front of him and have a treat ready.

Step

Treat

Hold a treat up to your Boston Terrier’s nose but don’t let him have it. You may need to hide it in your hand so he can sniff it but not get to it.

Step

Move treat

Move the treat up from his nose to above his head. He should lift his head and follow the treat with his nose. To do this, his backend should head down towards the ground.

Step

When his bottom touches the ground sitting, let him have the treat.

Step

Repeat

Have your Boston Terrier stand again and repeat the actions with another treat.

Step

Command

This time, as he sits, use the command ‘sit’ as you give him the treat after his bottom touches the ground.

Step

Practice

Keep practicing this until your Boston Terrier can sit by just using the command and not the treat at nose level.

The Hand Command Method

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Step

Stand or kneel

Stand or kneel in front if your Boston Terrier.

Step

Nose enticing

Hold a treat near your Boston’s Terrier’s nose, enticing him with the scent.

Step

Hand signal

When your Boston Terrier notices the treat or the scent, take the hand holding the treat and hold it above his head.

Step

Flatten

Hold the treat secure under your thumb and flatten your hand with your palm facing down.

Step

'Sit' command

Say the command ‘Sit’ as you flatten your hand and bring your hand above his head.

Step

Sitting

Your Boston Terrier should sit down as a result of following the treat when you move it upward from his nose to above his head. The flat hand motion is your hand signal to have him sit without telling him to do so.

Step

Repeat

Keep practicing this to get your Boston Terrier to connect the training with the action of sitting. Your pup should get to the point where he can sit by only watching you use the hand signal.

The Clicker Training Method

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Step

Treat

Stand in front of your Boston Terrier holding a treat.

Step

Attention

Get his attention by holding the treat down towards his nose. Do not allow him to get the treat, just let him sniff it.

Step

Move treat

Move the treat from your dog's nose up above his head. You may need to drop it down a bit behind his head to really get his attention. As you do this, he should follow it back, squatting down.

Step

Sit

As he sits to try to get to the treat over his head, say the command 'sit' and then click and give him the treat.

Step

Repeat

Repeat these steps, each time getting closer to just asking your dog to sit and not using the treat to lure him down as often. Each time your Boston Terrier sits, click and treat.

Step

Hand signal

You can add a hand signal to your sit command by placing your hand flat with the palm up as you say the command. Over time, your Boston Terrier will associate this signal with the action of sitting. Be sure to click and treat each time he follows your command.