How to Train a Dog to Sit (Treat and Click Method)

Co-authored by Sophie Amphlett

Last Updated: September 17, 2025

• Loading Your Clicker
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• Getting Your Dog to Sit
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• Reinforcing a Sit with Click and Treat
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• Adding Command and Praise Words
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• Practicing the Sit
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• Expert Q&A
|
• Things You'll Need

|Show more |Show less

Training your dog to sit is one of the first, and most fun, commands that you can teach your dog. Using a clicker and dog treats will help speed along the process and make it more fun for both of you. To train your dog to sit using the click and treat method, you’ll want to load your clicker, get your dog to sit and add the reinforcers, then add command and praise words until your dog is able to sit consistently just on your command.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 5:

Loading Your Clicker

1. 
   1
   Have your clicker and treats ready. The technique of “loading” or “charging” your clicker simply means getting your dog to associate the click with a treat. Buy treats that you’re sure your dog likes when you purchase a clicker.

   • If you’re training a new dog and aren’t sure yet what treats it likes, buy a few different kinds and use the ones that your dog responds to the best. If a dog likes a treat, it will eat it right away and maybe wag its tail to show that it’s happy.
   • Once you find treats your dog likes, use the same kind consistently each time you do clicker training. Your dog will start to associate that specific treat with the clicker.
2. 
   2
   Press the clicker button once. Your clicker has a little button on it that makes a “click sound.” With repetition, your dog will come to understand that this noise is good and a treat is coming.
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3. 
   3
   Give your dog a treat right after you press the clicker. Have a treat ready in your hand when you press the clicker button. As soon as you click once, give your dog its treat.
4. 
   4
   Repeat “click and treat” 10-12 times quickly in succession. Without asking your dog to do any tasks, simply repeat the click and treat process 10-12 times. This helps to build the association in your dog’s mind between the clicking noise and getting a treat.

   • This rapid succession is “loading your clicker.” It saturates your dog’s mind with the association between the clicking noise and the treat, so that it always comes to anticipate a treat when it hears the noise.
5. 
   5
   Repeat loading your clicker twice a day for 2 days. Do the 10-12 click and treat successions twice each day for 2 days. Space out the loading of your clicker to improve your dog’s association between hearing the noise and getting a treat.

   • Try loading your clicker once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening for the best results.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 5:

Getting Your Dog to Sit

1. 
   1
   Bring your dog to a quiet room. To start sit training, bring your dog, your clicker, and the treats to a room where your dog can focus. This room will be where you do all of the initial training, so choose a room that’s comfortable for both of you.

   • If your dog is easily distracted by things outside such as birds, try shutting the blinds or curtains while you train.
   • Vary the room where you train your dog as your dog gets better at sitting on command. This way, they’ll understand the command is meant for any location.
2. 
   2
   Wait for your dog to sit on its own. There are 2 techniques for getting your dog to sit: capturing and luring. Capturing means you simply stand facing your dog without doing anything, and wait for it to sit on its own.

   • This method works best for dogs who are not extremely hyper and who frequently sit to rest on their own.
3. 
   3
   Hold a treat above your dog’s head to encourage your dog to sit. If you’re waiting for a while and your dog doesn’t sit, you may need to try and lure it into a sitting position. Hold your dog’s treat above its head. Dogs can’t look up very easily without sitting, so doing this encourages your dog to get into the sitting position.

   • If your dog tries to jump up and get the treat, do not let it have it. Say “no” in a clear, firm voice and move the treat out of your dog’s reach.
4. 
   4
   Raise the treat from your dog’s nose to above it to encourage sitting. If your dog seems to not care much about the treat and won’t sit when you put the treat above its head, try bringing the treat down in front of its nose first. Then bring the treat out and up above your dog’s head.

   • Usually the upward movement of the treat will encourage your dog to sit so it can look at the treat. If this still doesn’t work, you may want to try a different kind of treat that your dog likes better.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 5:

Reinforcing a Sit with Click and Treat

1. 
   1
   Click your clicker as soon as your dog’s butt touches the ground. When your dog starts to sit, press the button on the clicker. Don’t wait until your dog is fully in a sit to press the button. You want your dog to understand that the action of sitting is what caused the noise from the clicker.

   • If you’re too late and your dog is already sitting, back up a few steps to try to get your dog to standing and try again.
2. 
   2
   Give your dog a treat right away. Right after you click, give your dog a treat. If you spent time loading your clicker first, your dog will already anticipate a treat after it hears the click.
3. 
   3
   Back away a few steps to get your dog standing again. If you have the clicker and treats that your dog likes, chances are it will follow you when you back away. If not, you can try waiting for a bit, or calling your dog by name to see if it will stand up at the sound of your voice.

   • If your dog keeps sitting or lies down, it may be tired. Try to postpone training until after your dog is more rested.
4. 
   4
   Repeat sit, click, and treat a few times. Do 5-10 repetitions of sit, click and treat before you start adding words. Your dog will start to associate its action of sitting with hearing the click and getting a treat.
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Part 4

Part 4 of 5:

Adding Command and Praise Words

1. 
   1
   Add your verbal command, such as “sit” or “down” in a clear, firm voice. Choose a word that you will use every time you ask your dog to sit. Be sure to never change the word; doing so will confuse your dog. Use a clear, firm voice when you say the word, so the dog understands that you’re giving a command.

   • Say the word, then use your lure treat or a hand gesture to encourage a sit at first. Continue doing this as long as your dog needs, until it can sit on its own with just your verbal command.
2. 
   2
   Add a praise word, such as “good!” when your dog sits. When your dog sits, say “good!” or “good sit!” as you click the clicker and give a treat. Repeat the sequence of command, sit, click, treat, and praise.
3. 
   3
   Remove the lure treat if you are still using one. If you’re still having to hold a treat up to get your dog in a sitting position, try holding up your hand while you say “sit” instead. Repeat this as many times as you need to until your dog consistently sits with just your hand gesture and the sit command.

   • Eventually, remove the hand gesture as well and simply tell your dog to “sit.” Be sure to click, treat, and praise immediately if it follows your direction every time.
4. 
   4
   Start to click and treat only when you ask your dog to sit. Some dogs catch on very quickly and understand that sitting causes them to hear a click and get a treat, so they will start sitting on their own constantly and expect a treat. You can give them the click and treat a few times if they do this, but you want to eventually reward only the sits that happen after your command.

   • If your dog approaches you and sits during a time when you’re not training, it may be communicating that it wants a training session. Grab your clicker and dog treats and get your dog back up to standing, then start the training session.
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Part 5

Part 5 of 5:

Practicing the Sit

1. 
   1
   Practice sit, click, treat, and praise in different rooms. Once your dog gets the hang of sitting upon command in your training room, try it in different rooms of the house. Try getting your dog to sit at different times of the day as well, such as before meal time or as soon as you get home from work.
2. 
   2
   Practice outside and on walks for a couple of weeks. When your dog consistently sits on command in different areas of your home, start trying it when you’re outside and on your daily walks. Bring your clicker and treats with you when you leave, so that you have them ready.

   • Practicing outside will give your dog the chance to follow your commands while it is distracted by the smells and sounds of outdoors.
3. 
   3
   Taper off clicking and giving a treat. When your dog follows your command to sit 90-95% percent of the time both indoors and outdoors, you can gradually start to remove the click and treat from the process. Try telling your dog to sit and give it praise if it does. Next time, use the click and treat.

   • Alternate giving a click and treat with not giving them each time you ask your dog to sit for a couple days.
   • Eventually, wean your dog down to just getting the click and treat once per day, then a couple times per week, then once per week.
4. 
   4
   Remove the click and treat completely. Your dog will eventually not need the click and treat to follow your command to sit. It will be satisfied by your praise instead. You can still occasionally give it treats for fun, however, when it follows your directions.

   • Hang onto your clicker and use it with treats to train your dog to follow different commands, such as “come” or “lie down.”
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Expert Q&A

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• Question

  How do you teach a stubborn dog to sit?

  

  Sophie Amphlett
  Professional Dog Trainer

  Sophie Amphlett is a Professional Dog Trainer and Service Dog Coach with over five years of experience. Sophie graduated from CATCH Canine Trainers Academy’s Master Course with Distinction in 2016. She is also a Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI) and a Certified Fun Scent Games Instructor (DN-FSG1). Sophie serves as a volunteer adoption counselor and dog walker for Adopt-A-Pet as well.

  

  Sophie Amphlett

  Professional Dog Trainer

  Expert Answer

  Start with a hand signal where you hold a treat and lift your hand up above the dog's nose. As you do that, the dog's nose is going to point up, which makes their butt go down. Then, click the clicker and treat the dog the precise moment that the dog's butt touches the ground. Once the dog is proficient at the hand signal, introduce a verbal cue, like the word "Sit," and gradually start fading the hand signal.

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• Question

  How do you use a clicker for training?

  

  Sophie Amphlett
  Professional Dog Trainer

  Sophie Amphlett is a Professional Dog Trainer and Service Dog Coach with over five years of experience. Sophie graduated from CATCH Canine Trainers Academy’s Master Course with Distinction in 2016. She is also a Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI) and a Certified Fun Scent Games Instructor (DN-FSG1). Sophie serves as a volunteer adoption counselor and dog walker for Adopt-A-Pet as well.

  

  Sophie Amphlett

  Professional Dog Trainer

  Expert Answer

  The way clickers work, every time you click, you give a dog a treat. It's a very effective tool in teaching the dog when they've done something good, because you can mark the precise moment they've performed the thing you've asked them to do.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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Things You’ll Need

• Clicker
• Dog treats
• Quiet room