This week's column is part 2 of my four essential canine commands. The four essentials, in my opinion, are name recognition, sit, come and leave it. We have all ready talked about the importance of your dog knowing his name. We should think of the dogs name as its cue to pay attention. Now we are going to teach Spot to sit.

Sits are great! A dog that is sitting is not jumping, pulling on the leash or stealing the roast beef off the kitchen counter. Generally, if a dog is sitting, it is being polite and avoiding trouble. I teach my dogs that sit is a default behavior. If they are confused or do not know what to do, they should sit. That makes it easy for me to take charge of the situation.

There are many ways to teach a dog to sit. My favorite method is to lure the dog into position and reward.

Start by getting Spot's attention by saying his name. Hold a treat by Spots nose, with your hand palm up. Slowly raise the treat slightly up and back between Spots eyes. As his head comes up, his butt should go down to "Sit" position. Give him the treat and tell him "Sit".

Relax a moment, let Spot move out of sit and repeat several times.

Using your hand palm up gives you a hand signal to go with the verbal command. Dogs understand hand signals quite easily. Using your hand palm up with the word sit gives your dog two clear cues it can understand. Since dogs are non-verbal, the hand signal really helps the dog put together the word with the action.

Go slow and be patient. Try to give your dog a chance a figure out what you want by being quiet, keeping your hands off him and using the food to manipulate his body position. This method works with most dogs. After several repetitions, your pet will begin to get the idea and offer to sit.

Try a few sits with your same hand motion, but no treat. Spot should continue to respond. Now you can start using sit as a way for Spot to earn life rewards. Ask for a sit before petting Spot. Ask for a sit before letting Spot go outside. Spot should sit before you interact with him in anyway. Sit for interaction teaches a calm and complaint frame of mind as a way of life.

Remember to use your dogs name before you give him an instruction. Particularly if Spot is distracted, say his name first and the simple one word command, sit. Be sure to use your hand signal as well. I suggest dogs do a hundred sits a day for their owners. Try it and see if your dog becomes calmer and more deferential.

Cissy Sumner, CPDT-KA of Best Behavior Dog Training is Vero's first Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed. If you have a training or behavior question, email Cissy at www.bestbehaviordogtraining.org. Please include your hometown.