Teaching your dog to sit and stay is a fundamental and useful skill. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you train your pet including several special tricks for a successful pet session.

First and foremost, creating a quiet and distraction-free environment for your pet starts the session on the right foot, or paw. This helps your dog focus and reduce any potential interruptions. Stay away from having their favorite toys in the background or loud sounds. When you are first training them, it helps to do it in a clean space like an empty garage, quiet backyard, or even your living room.

Of course, the key to training is the reward system. You will want to gather some small, soft treats that your pet loves.

From there, start slow. Begin with the "sit" command.

Sit in front of your pet (you can work up to standing) and hold a treat close to their nose.
Slowly move your hand upward. This trick naturally forces your pet's head upward and their bottom into a sitting position.
As soon as they sit, say the command "sit" both clear and firm. Then give them the treat as a reward.

This three-step process on repeat will gradually teach your pet to sit reliably. Each time you go through the steps, reduce the guidance of your hand.

After they have a handle on sit, you are halfway to developing the tricks for a successful pet session.

The next command that you can work with is "Stay." Once they have sat and have been treated, hold your palm up towards them say they step back one step. Say "Stay" again and then quickly step beck. If they stay seated treat them. If they moved shorten they step backward. Do not treat if they come towards you. Slowly practice moving farther way as they get the hang of the command. A leash can be useful with this exercise for more control. Once the dog is okay with you stepping back and are staying, change it up by stepping back and then sideways. Just like you would do to move out of the way of the camera during the session.

Final Steps for A Successful Pet Session

Another trick that is key to bringing your pet in for portraits is practicing in different locations. Earlier, I mentioned starting in a calm, quiet, and distraction-free environment, but in reality that is not always going to be the case. Once your pet understands the commands in a quiet environment, introduce distractions gradually and work in new places.

When you come to the studio for your session, your pet will know they're in a new location. Instead of having anxieties about it or ignoring commands, they'll already be familiar with how to behave in a new environment with new distractions and sounds or smells.

The last thing to remember is CONSITENCY IS KEY.

Especially with the reward system, using positive reinforcement during training consistently is important. Techniques don't always have to refer to treats. Praise and pets is also a large part of positive reinforcement. It's kind of like kids! They want to hear that they are doing well as much as they want snacks and stickers. Always reward your pet immediately after they perform the desired action, and avoid using punishment as it can create confusion or anxiety.

Bonus Trick: Teaching Your Pet to lay DOWN on Command.

Everyone loves variety, so now that your dog can sit and stay.... another useful skill is teaching your pet to lay down on command. Again, the first trick is starting off in a quiet and distraction-free environment to foster the most focus from your pet and to be prepared with treats.

Begin with your pet in the sitting position.
Let them sniff the treat and instead of raising it like you did when teaching them to sit, lower your hand with the treat toward the ground.
As soon as they completely lay down, say the command "down" both clear and firm. Then give them the treat as a reward.
Later after repeating that, introduce a hand signal in addition to the verbal command. Hand signals could include a flat palm held parallel to the ground or a fist like the military "halt."

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