Sit
The most commonly taught of all dog training commands. Sit should be fairly easy for your dog to master, and should be taught before teaching both "stay" and "down."
1. Use a touch-target to position your dog in front of you.
2. Take a high value treat in your hand and pinch it between your index finger and thumb.
3. Slowly raise the treat over your dogs head. (if your dog is smaller you may need to bend over to allow the treat to pass just above your dogs head). We want them to be able to smell the treat, and they should follow your hand with their eyes.
4. Leave your hand over their head while they think about it, the effort of moving their head up to look at your will force their butt down towards the ground.
5. Going down....
6. As soon as your dog's butt hits the ground, give a firm "Yes!" and reward with the treat/praise.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 until your dog is doing the command consistently. Once they are doing the command consistently you may add the word "Sit" to step three. Remember dogs are visual learners and it is always better to train them to respond to your body language before adding the verbal command!