Basic Dog Commands: How to Teach Sit, Down, Stay, and More

The six most useful basic dog commands are sit, down, stay, come, leave it, and place. Each is taught the same way: get the behavior with a food lure or by waiting for it, mark the exact moment with a click or “yes”, reward, and add the verbal cue once the dog performs the behavior reliably. Then build duration, distance, and distraction one at a time.

How dogs learn a cue

Three tools are enough for all six behaviors:

• Marker: a click or a short word that means “that was right, a reward is coming”. It bridges the second or two until the treat arrives. The basics are covered in the guide to clicker training.
• Luring: a treat held at the dog’s nose guides the body into position.
• Capturing: you wait until the dog does the behavior on their own, for example lying down, and mark that moment.

The word comes last. Dogs do not understand “sit” as language; they learn that a sound predicts a reward for a particular action. Add the cue only when you would bet that the dog is about to do the behavior:

1. Get the behavior with a lure or by capturing, five to ten times.
2. Repeat the hand movement without food in that hand; reward from the other hand or the pouch. This usually works within the first two or three sessions and prevents dependence on visible food.
3. Say the cue once, wait one second, then give the hand signal. Mark and reward.
4. After 20–30 repetitions over several sessions, try the word alone.

Keep sessions to two to five minutes, with 5–10 repetitions per behavior, and end while the dog is still keen. All of this is applied positive reinforcement: the dog repeats what has paid off.

Sit

1. Hold a treat at the dog’s nose and move it slowly up and slightly back over the head. As the nose goes up, the rear goes down.
2. Mark the moment the rear touches the floor and reward while the dog is still sitting.
3. If the dog jumps up, the treat is too high. If they walk backward, practice with a wall behind them.
4. After five to ten repetitions, use the same hand movement with an empty hand, then add the word.

Sit is practical before meals, at doors, and when greeting people. It is also a useful alternative for dogs that tend toward jumping up.

Down

1. From a sit, bring a treat from the nose straight down to the floor between the front paws, then slowly along the floor away from the dog, like drawing an L.
2. Mark when the elbows touch the floor and feed the reward on the floor between the paws.
3. If the rear pops up, start again and move the treat more slowly. On slippery floors, use a mat.
4. Alternatively, capture it: when the dog lies down on their own in the evening, mark and reward.

Some dogs dislike lying on cold or hard floors; a soft surface often solves that.

Stay

Stay means “hold this position until released”. The release word, such as “okay” or “free”, is part of the exercise from the start.

1. Ask for a sit or down. Wait one second, mark, reward in position, then say the release word and toss a treat so the dog gets up.
2. Extend to 2, 3, 5, then 10 seconds, rewarding in position.
3. When 10 seconds work, add one step back and return immediately to reward. Come back to the dog to reward instead of calling them out of the stay.
4. If the dog gets up, say nothing, reset calmly, and make the next attempt easier.

Vary the duration rather than always making it longer: 3 seconds, 8, 2, 10, 5. This keeps the dog from predicting an ever harder task.

Come

Coming when called is the most important safety behavior and deserves its own training plan. In short:

1. Choose a cue that has not been worn out.
2. Say it once from 1–2 m (3–6 ft), move backward, mark as the dog turns to you, and reward generously on arrival.
3. Increase distance indoors, then practice outside on a long line attached to a harness.
4. Never call the dog for something unpleasant.

The full process, including long line work and an emergency whistle, is described in the recall training guide.

Leave it

Leave it means “turn away from that and look at me”. The dog learns that ignoring something earns a better reward from you.

1. Hold a low-value treat in your closed fist. Let the dog sniff and lick. Say nothing.
2. The moment the dog pulls the nose away, even briefly, mark and reward with a different, better treat from the other hand.
3. Repeat until the dog backs off the fist immediately. Then open the hand; close it if the dog dives in.
4. Add the cue just before presenting the hand.
5. Move the treat to the floor, covered by your foot if needed, then to items dropped from a low height, and finally to objects on walks, with the dog on leash.

The reward never is the item that was left. Otherwise the dog learns to wait and then grab.

Place

Place sends the dog to a mat or bed to settle there. It is useful when the doorbell rings, during meals, and in cafes.

1. Put the mat down. Mark and reward any interest: looking at it, one paw on it, then all four paws. Deliver each treat on the mat.
2. When the dog steps onto the mat readily, wait for or lure a down and reward that on the mat.
3. Add the cue as the dog heads for the mat.
4. Build duration with calm, slow treats placed between the front paws every few seconds, then at longer intervals.
5. Use the release word to end it. Then send the dog from 1 m (3 ft), then 2 m, then across the room.

A dog that can relax on a mat also finds it easier to settle in a crate; the two skills support each other, as the crate training guide explains.

The 3 Ds: duration, distance, distraction

A cue learned in the living room is not yet a cue that works at the park. Reliability comes from proofing three factors separately.

Factor	Meaning	Example progression
Duration	How long the dog holds the behavior	1 s, 3 s, 5 s, 10 s, 30 s, 1 min
Distance	How far away you are	1 step, 3 steps, 5 m (16 ft), out of sight
Distraction	What is going on around the dog	Quiet room, garden, quiet street, park

Rules for working with the 3 Ds:

• Change one D at a time. When you add distance, shorten the duration. When you move to a new place, go back to an easy version.
• Use the eight-out-of-ten rule. Eight successes in ten attempts: go one step further. Fewer than six: go one step back.
• Practice in at least five different places before you consider a cue learned.
• Pay more for hard tasks. A down next to a playing dog is worth more than a down in the kitchen.

Common mistakes

• Repeating the cue. “Sit, sit, sit” teaches the dog that the first word does not count. Say it once and help with the hand signal if needed.
• Adding the word too early. If the dog does not yet do the behavior reliably, the word becomes background noise.
• Keeping food in the lure hand too long. The dog then only responds when a treat is visible.
• Sessions that are too long. Concentration drops after a few minutes, especially in puppies.
• Raising all three Ds at once. A long stay at a distance in a busy park is three new tasks at the same time.
• Pushing the dog into position. Pressing on the rear or pulling the legs teaches little and can be unpleasant or painful.
• Scolding mistakes. An error means the step was too big. Punishment-based training is associated with more stress, as the review by Ziv (2017) in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior summarizes.

When professional help makes sense

Basic cues rarely require a professional, but a good reward-based group class helps with timing and with practicing around other dogs. Seek individual help if your dog is too fearful or agitated to take food outdoors, or if they growl or snap when you approach food or objects. If a dog suddenly refuses to sit or lie down, or does so stiffly and slowly, have a vet check for pain before training further.

With puppies, these exercises fit well into the daily routine described in the puppy training schedule.