Your chihuahua needs to be obedient that is it should be able to follow the small instructions that you give to them. There is no good feeling than seeing your Dog doing exactly what you command him to do. Sitting is one of the signs of obedience that your chihuahua needs to know, and it is through training that your pooch will learn. How To teach a chihuahua to sit? you need to follow the following simple procedure;
Steps To Teach a Chihuahua To Sit
Pick up Treat Materials
This is the initial step to take. When training your chihuahua, you need to use treats to draw attention. You may consider picking up some delicious dog food such as beef at the store to be used as treats. The treats may also be in the form of favorite toys. When choosing food as treat, it is important to consider buying recommended food for chihuahuas and avoid those that may cause harm to them. Only a small amount of treat food is essential to avoid overfeeding the Dog. If the chihuahua is teething, consider picking strong toys that the dog will chew on.
Choose a Location Free from Distractions
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The location for the training of a chihuahua determines the effectiveness of teaching. For the dog to concentrate, it needs a distraction-free zone. A suitable location can be indoors or outside the house in an open field. When you choose to train your chihuahua inside the house, ensure that you draw the curtains and switch off any source of distraction like the TV or vacuum cleaner. If you choose the open air, ensure that it is far from any distractions, for example, a location without other pets, moving vehicles, or people passing. A conducive environment for learning is all that your chihuahua needs.
Simple Steps to Follow
Once you have your treat and have chosen a suitable location, the following should do step by step;
- First Take the chihuahua to the Location.
- Introduce the treat to the chihuahua by moving so close to them while holding the treat in your hand. Let the chihuahua look and smell the treat such that its attention is attracted.
- Make a continuous attempt of moving the treat up and down towards the chihuahua’s tail while telling them to sit. This may look simple, but it will take you time to get the dog to understand. The importance of saying the word ‘sit´ while performing the action makes the dog connect the relationship.
- Finally, reward the dog once they are able to connect the words and the action. Repeat the same procedure severally to make sure that the chihuahua does not forget.
Capturing Behavior
This is a training method that has proven to be most effective when training chihuahuas. Capturing the behavior method is a trick whereby you wait for your dog to respond correctly to what you tell them then offer the treat. After training, your dog needs to be reinforced by using this method. This is a very important method since it engages the use of the mind to figure out the required action.
Adding a Cue
Training needs the addition of a cue, for this case, the suitable one is ‘sit.’ Once your chihuahua has made a connection between the action and the cue, begin giving it a test. Tell the chihuahua to sit, once she responds by actually sitting, reward heavily. Continue testing the dog after some intervals of time, to ensure that it understood the cue.
Fading the Treats
Treat’s goal is to draw the attention of the chihuahua. Therefore once it has learned to connect the cue with action, the use of treats should be minimized gradually. Awarding the dog less often, but gradually will make it get used to responding to the cue without necessarily getting an award. You will be able to know that your training is successful once you completely withdraw the treats and the chihuahua stills respond to the cues.
Important Considerations during the Training
When training your pet, consider placing a softer material like a carpet or soft mat for them to sit on. This will encourage them to sit as it becomes more comfortable.
Also, consider training your chihuahua to sit on higher levels like seats or benches, this is to ensure that they do not step on. chihuahuas are tiny, and once they sit on the floor, they are likely to be injured, therefore training them to sit on higher surfaces will reduce the chances of them being injured.
Last Word
In conclusion, training a chihuahua to sit might look to be a stupid idea, but it is actually very helpful to the owners when instilling discipline behaviors in the pet. Also, these types of exercises help to create a strong bond with your dog, and they help them to stimulate their mind and to realize their pent-up energy.
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References:
https://www.cesarsway.com/dog-training/obedience/the-sit-command
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