How to Train a Doberman Puppy to Sit

Lead your Doberman puppy into a quiet room. Then kneel in front of him and hold out a treat in front of his nose. If he’s already quite tall, you can stand instead. Just make sure you capture his attention with a treat.

Give a ‘sit’ command in a clear, but playful voice. Doberman puppies respond best when they are playing a game. Also, make sure you give the command just once. Otherwise he will know that he doesn’t have to respond to your instructions first time.

Now slowly move the treat back over his head. This will naturally guide his head and body back as he tries to follow the treat. The first couple of times, you may also want to use your spare hand to guide his body down.

As soon as he does indeed sit, hand over a tasty treat. You should also shower him in verbal praise. In addition, remember the greater the reward, the quicker he will learn and the more eager he will be to practice.

Spend a few minutes each day practicing. He will quickly pick it up. You can also practice in a range of situations, so you know he can still perform when there are distractions around. Once he’s got the hang of it, you can gradually cut out the treats.

Get him used to the clicker. This will become an effective way to communicate with him and signal to him when he has performed a trick correctly. So, whenever he follows an instruction or behaves as you wish, immediately click to let him know and follow up with a treat.

Stand before him with a treat in your hand. Hold it right in front of his nose and make sure he knows what you’ve got. Try and stay quiet at this point too, you want him to concentrate.

Now slowly rotate your hand back over his head. The key is moving slowly, so he naturally follows your hand. This will lead him into the sit position.

As soon as he sits down, click to let him know he has performed the trick correctly. You can then hand over a tasty treat and shower him in verbal praise. Make sure he gets the reward within a few seconds, otherwise he may not associate the action with the reward.

Spend the next few days practicing. Try it in a range of situations. You can also have other people give the command. Once he gets the hang of it, you can just use the verbal command alone and stop guiding him with your hand. At this point, you can then start to cut out the treats.

Spend a few minutes each day playing around with a particular toy. Play fetch, tug of war and really get him as worked up as possible. You want him jumping up whenever he sees the toy. Leaving it in his bed overnight will also help him get attached to it.

Now quietly take your Doberman puppy to a quiet room. Hold the toy in your hand to get him to follow you. Then stand above him and hold eye contact. This will help him focus.

Give your ‘sit’ command in clear but friendly voice. The more animated you are, the more he will think it is a game and the more eager he will be to play. You can use any word or phrase you like for the instruction. Dobermans can learn hundreds of different commands.

Now slowly move the toy back over his head. This should naturally lead him to lean back as he tries to follow it. He will eventually be guided into a 'sit' position. You can try training right up against a wall, so he can’t walk back and has to sit down.

Make sure you reward him as soon as he does sit. Spend a minute playing around with the toy. To start with, reward him even if he sits for just a second or two. At this point you want to encourage any promising signs. Then as you practice over the next few days, you can have him sit for longer. Once he’s mastered the trick, you can stop using the toy as a reward.