Shaping the Sit
Ideally you will want to shape the sit. To get the behaviour in the first place, you can lure it. It is essential however, that you fade that lure as soon as possible.
To lure the dog into a sit position, have food in the palm of your hand, place your palm above his nose and make a scooping motion toward his ears: he should sit as he follows the lure. C/T as he does. After two or three lures, repeat the exact same motion with no food in your hand. C/T again. Make your hand signal smaller and smaller until the dog offers the sit without any prompting at all. Continue to C/T for all correct responses.
Sit is a moving activitiy, not a destination, so be certain that you time your click for when your dog is moving into the sit, not after he is already there.
As before, count ten or twenty cookies in your hand and look at your watch. Begin to keep track of how many sits your dog offers (without any prompting or luring) by how many cookies you have delivered in one minute. Once your dog offers at least twelve sits in a minute, it is time to put the sit on cue. Notice in the video clip that Audrey offers 8 sits in the first 30 seconds before I add the cue.
To add the cue, say Sit before your dog offers the sit. Remember, you must be able to predict that your dog will sit after you give the cue, so make sure he is fluent before adding the cue (offering the behaviour at least 12 times a minute). Do this several times in several different places to make sure the behaviour is actually on cue.
Once you have the Sit on cue, only reward it if you ask for it first. To learn more about putting behaviours on cues, see Cues: Part Deux