You dog does a number of things naturally. He walks, he sits, he stands, and he lies down. This lesson will help you to position the dog and as we are doing so, say the word that will become the command, so that he may associate the word and the position.

SIT
Initially, we won't worry about where the dog is, in relation to you. Eventually, you will want him sitting at your side with his nose/shoulders even with the side of your leg, or squarely in front of you. For now, we will just work on the actual sit. If you have a small dog/puppy, get down to the dog’s level. With a larger puppy/dog, you can remain standing and simply bend from the waist as necessary. Hold the collar on the top side of the dog’s neck with your right hand and let the lead hang over the dog’s left shoulder out of your way. While steadying the dog’s head and front by the collar with your right hand, run your left hand from behind his collar down the dog’s back and under his haunches, causing the dog to bring his rear under him (commonly called a scoop sit). You want him sitting up on his haunches - with his weight balanced with his front feet. Some dogs tend to rock back on their haunches, which will cause them to sit behind you, when in the heel position. Break this habit right away. If you reinforce incorrect behavior now, you will find it very difficult to break the bad habit later. (If you are going to compete in obedience trials, your dog needs to be correct. If you are going to get his Good Citizenship Certificate, sitting correctly presents a better/more professional image. A sloppy, rocked back on the haunches sit also takes some of your control away, the dog has chosen to be ‘more relaxed’ / less responsive.) As the dog is in the process of sitting, command “SIT”. Speak clearly and firmly, in a pleasant voice. Repeat this ten times in succession, twice daily during the week. If you are planning on showing your puppy, you might want to hold off on teaching the sit command until the dog is older. When doing the heel exercises with controlled walking, instead of having your puppy sit when you come to a stop, have him do a alert stand. If you prefer, you can substitute the term stack for stand. Consistency is the only issue. Ultimately, you want your puppy to sit as close to automatic as it can be with an Anatolian. Give him a reason to sit that is positive and be sure to reinforce the appropriate behavior energetically. Again, if you are planning on showing your pup, do NOT reinforce an inappropriate sit, just put them back into the stand position.

DOWN
Starting with your dog in a sit position, you may use a treat to entice him to lie down by placing it just in front of his nose and then bringing it down towards the floor and, about six inches above the floor begin to move it out in front of him. Another method, is to push the dog into a down from a sit by placing your thumb between his shoulder blades. This is easy to do with a small breed and a little more challenging with a large dog. A third method is to get down on your dog’s right side. Reach over his shoulder with your left hand and grasp his left foreleg at the elbow. At the same time, grasp his right leg at the elbow with your right hand. Lift both legs up off the floor and rotate his body as you put him down. I personally prefer to start my dog from the sit position and use a treat as in the first example, but also place my left hand between the shoulders and put a downward pressure. This tends to encourage a down that results in my dog being straight and not leaning to one side or another, in a sloppy manner. It’s always harder to break sloppy habits later on. In all methods, command “DOWN” as the dog goes into position so he associates the command with the position. Do this ten times in succession, twice daily during the week.

STAND
It is easy to get a dog to stand. Merely move forward a step or two to get him on his feet and rub his tummy. As he stands to accept this ecstasy, command “STAND”. We are not expecting the dog to stay in these positions for any length of time at this point, merely to associate the word and the position. This should also be repeated ten times in succession twice daily during the week.

FOLLOW FOOD
Place the lead in your left hand. You the lead to have a little slack from the collar to your left hand... not taunt, but not loose. The remainder of the lead can be held in the right hand or loop the lead back and forth and hold the whole lead in your left hand. For training purposes, the use of two hands can give you more control. Do what is comfortable for you. A piece of food should also be held between the fingers of your left hand. Show the dog the food and walk, tempting the dog to follow the food. Keep your left wrist against your side. DO NOT MOVE IT AWAY! Your dog will learn to walk at your side, with his nose about even with your leg.

CONTROLLED WALKING

This teaches your puppy to move on a lead and accept it. For the first week or so, use only mild corrections. LOTS OF PRAISE!!!! Your goal is to have your dog walking on a loose leash (slack from collar to your hand) within a week. Use the command NO as the dog pulls on the leash, praise when the dog has a slack lead. Remember - YOU are the one in control - NOT your puppy! Be patient, use lavish praise - NO ANGER! A firm “NO” when he pulls or lags behind, then praise when he walks at your side.