Stand, four feet up and still, from a sit or a down

How to teach a dog to stand from a sit comes down to a level hand. Hold a small treat at nose height and draw it straight forward, slowly, until the rear lifts. Pay the moment your dog is upright and holding still. From there, teach it from a down, then mix the three positions.

Why teach a stand when your dog already sits and lies down?

A stand gives the handler a position to work with. Sit and down both bring a dog toward the floor. A stand keeps all four feet planted and the body level, which suits jobs where you need your dog upright for a moment.

Think of everyday handler tasks: running a brush down the coat, toweling off after a walk, slipping on a harness, or taking a photo of the whole dog. The grooming treat guide goes through the brushing and bath side of things, so this page sticks to the cue itself.

If your dog sometimes pops up out of a sit early, that is a stand already, offered at the wrong moment. Teaching it on cue turns it into something you can ask for and pay on purpose.

How do you lure a stand from a sit?

Start from a sit. Put a bite of cheese right at the nose, then slide your hand straight out in front at nose height, neither rising nor sinking. Move slowly enough for the nose to track it and the rear to rise.

The instant the back end lifts, pay. Then ask again, and this time wait for four feet planted and still before you pay. The early rounds pay the rise, and later rounds pay the stillness.

Lure, mark and pay get their full treatment on the sit page, so this one sticks to the hand level and the feet.

Timing matters as much as the hand. The training treat guide explains why the reward should land within about a second, and here that second starts when the rear comes up. Watch the hand height too: a hand that drifts upward pulls the nose toward the ceiling, and a sit may follow instead of a stand.

How do you get a stand from a down?

From a down, the lure moves forward and a little up. Watch for the front end to come up first, then the rear. Draw the hand along the floor at first, and lift it as the elbows straighten.

Pay when the dog is up on all four legs and still. If your dog scoots forward on its elbows before standing, slow the hand and keep it nearer the nose.

The down itself is a separate cue, and the lay down guide explains how to get it. Come to this page once your dog lies down easily, and you can use that skill as a starting point.

Expect the first few rounds from a down to take longer than from a sit. Snap the pieces small and keep the pace quick.

How do you mix sit, down and stand in one game?

Once each position works alone, string them together in a mixed order. Call it a game of position changes. You may also see it searched as puppy push ups, though nothing here is exercise; it is just practice at switching.

Try a loose order and pay each change:

• Sit to stand, then pay.
• Stand to down, then pay.
• Down to stand, then pay.
• Stand to sit, then pay.

Change the order often so your dog follows your hand and not a pattern. Use the lure at first, then smaller and smaller hand movements as the positions become familiar.

Keep the game short. A few position changes and a break is plenty for one session, and a short game ends better than a long one.

With a puppy or a small dog, shrink the pieces rather than the number of rounds. Our listing says the freeze dried cheddar bites begin small and snap smaller still, and they contain dairy. They are a treat to pay with, not a complete diet.