Teach your dog to stay once it has learnt the ‘Sit!’ command.
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Attach a lead to the dog’s collar. Command the dog to sit, and then, holding the lead loosely, step away from it. Now give the command ‘Stay!’. You can reinforce the command with a hand signal, by holding the palm of your hand in front of its face. (Remember that you must be consistent, !’ So if you decide to use hand signal, you must do so every time.)
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Walk around the dog slowly in a circle maintaing eye contact with it. If it tries to get up, make it sit down again. If it stays still for the count of five, go back to it, praise it and give it a treat. Repeat the exercise, gradually moving further away for longer periods.
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Once your dog has mastered it, repeat the whole exercise, but this time drop the lead. While your dog is sitting obediently, give it a treat and praise it. Make sure that you do this before allowing it to move.
Troubleshooting
This exercise may be quite difficult for your dog because its natural instinct is to go to you. If it tries to get up and does not stay, hold its collar with one hand while pressing down its hindquarters with the other.