Sit pretty, built from small lifts out of a sit

How to teach a dog to sit pretty starts from a solid sit. Raise a treat slowly above the nose, only high enough that a front paw leaves the floor, and pay at once while the rear stays planted. Add height and a brief hold in small steps, and stop well short of a stretch or a hop.

Is your dog's sit ready for sit pretty?

Here is the test. Ask for a sit, then lift a piece a little above the nose. If the nose rises and the rear stays on the floor, you are ready to start. If the rear pops up and your dog ends up standing, the sit needs more work first, and the sit lesson is the place for that. This page assumes the sit is already there and does not rebuild it.

Tricks that begin in a sit include this one, and it only has one moving part: how far up the nose goes. Everything below is that one idea, turned up a notch at a time.

How high should the treat go for sit pretty?

Barely above the nose at first. The first thing to pay is a front paw leaving the floor, even a little. Pay that lift, with either paw, and let your dog settle back to a plain sit before you try again.

For the next few rounds, hold the height steady. When the paws come up easily, lift the treat another small step, and then another, over many rounds rather than a few big ones.

Watch the rear end. If it lifts, the hand went too high or too fast, and the fix is to come back down a step and pay lower. A treat held out of reach can invite a jump, and a jump is a different trick. Paying with the rear planted keeps each round clean.

Should your dog start in a corner?

Some handlers sit the dog in a corner, or beside a sofa, so there is something nearby on each side. It gives the rounds a shape: your dog sits in the same place, and the surroundings mark the spot.

Use it for the early rounds only. The corner is a setup, not the trick, and the plan is to leave it behind once the lifts come easily. The hands have no job in the pose itself. Never hold the paws up, lift your dog, or prop it into position. If the pose only exists when you are holding it, your dog has not learned anything yet.

If the corner does not suit your dog, a plain floor works fine. A rug or grass gives the rear end more grip than a slick kitchen floor.

Crumbs of the cheddar bites cover the quick pays here. By our listing, they are something to hand out during training, not a complete diet.

How do you add the hold and the word?

Once the paws come up on their own, ask for one beat of paws in the air before you pay. Then pay up high, right at the mouth, so there is nothing to climb down for. One beat can become two later, but always keep an easy round or two mixed in.

Say the word before the lure appears. "Pretty" works, or "up", or anything else short that you will say the same way. Lift the treat as usual. When the paws start rising as you speak, before the treat moves, the hand can stay lower each round.

Sit pretty and bow make a pair of photo poses, so some handlers teach them side by side and give each its own word. Keep the two cues sounding different and the poses stay apart.