Teaching your Pomeranian to sit, stay, and come is absolutely within reach — even if your dog currently treats every command as a polite suggestion. These three commands form the backbone of a safe, well-behaved dog, and with the right approach, most Pomeranians pick them up faster than you’d expect. Small breed, big brain — that’s the Pom way.
What I’ve Learned With Sash
- Pomeranians respond best to short, positive training sessions — their attention span is real but fragile, so keep it snappy.
- The sit-stay-come sequence works best when taught in order, with each command genuinely solid before you move on.
- Consistency between every person in your household is what makes or breaks recall training with a Pom.
Why These Three Commands Matter So Much
Sit, stay, and come aren’t just party tricks. They’re safety commands. A reliable recall — teaching your Pomeranian to come when called — can genuinely prevent accidents. A solid stay keeps your dog out of danger when you open the front door. And sit? Sit is the foundation that makes every other command easier to build on.
The American Kennel Club recommends these three commands as the starting point for all basic obedience training, and that advice holds especially true for Pomeranians. They’re clever, alert, and eager to please — but they can also be stubborn if training feels boring or inconsistent. You’ll want to work with their personality, not against it.
If you’re just starting out with your Pom, it’s worth reading through the fundamentals of Pomeranian training and behaviour first — it gives useful context for everything covered below.
Before You Start: Setting Yourself Up for Success
Keep Sessions Short
Sash has the focus of a dog who absolutely knows what she wants — and what she wants is usually not to sit still for longer than three minutes. Pomeranians are bright but easily bored, so aim for training sessions of five to ten minutes maximum. Two or three short sessions throughout the day will get you much further than one long slog.
Use High-Value Treats
Standard kibble won’t cut it when you’re asking your Pom to focus. Use small, soft, smelly treats — think tiny pieces of cooked chicken, commercial training treats, or freeze-dried liver. The treat needs to be worth more to your dog than whatever else is going on in the room.
Choose the Right Environment
Start training in a quiet, familiar space with minimal distractions. Once your Pom is responding reliably indoors, you can gradually introduce more challenging environments. Don’t try to teach recall for the first time in a park full of squirrels. Trust me on this one.
One Command at a Time
Don’t try to teach sit, stay, and come all in the same session. Work on one until your dog is responding correctly around 80% of the time before layering in the next. This isn’t just good practice — it prevents your Pom from getting confused and giving up on the whole exercise entirely.
How to Teach a Pomeranian to Sit
Sit is the easiest of the three to teach, and it’s the one you’ll use most often as a starting point for other commands. Here’s the method that worked well with Sash.
- Get your treat ready. Hold a small treat between your thumb and forefinger so your dog can smell it clearly.
- Lure into position. Hold the treat just above your dog’s nose and slowly move it back over their head toward their tail. As their nose follows the treat upward, their bottom naturally drops to the floor.
- Mark the moment. The instant their bottom touches the ground, say “yes!” (or use a clicker if you use one) and give the treat immediately.
- Add the word. Once your Pom is following the lure consistently, say “sit” just before you begin the hand movement. Repetition links the word to the action.
- Fade the lure. Gradually reduce the treat lure until your dog responds to just the verbal cue or a hand signal alone.
Sash had this down within a handful of sessions. The key for her was that I kept the treats tiny so she stayed motivated and wasn’t full after three reps.
How to Teach a Pomeranian to Stay
Stay is where a lot of people get frustrated because they try to increase distance and duration too quickly. Build it slowly and your Pom will actually hold it reliably.
Start From Sit
Ask your dog to sit. Once they’re in position, say “stay” in a calm, clear voice and hold your palm up flat like a stop signal. Wait just two or three seconds, then say “yes” and reward. That’s it — that’s your first stay. You’re not trying to walk across the room yet.
Build Duration Before Distance
Increase the time your dog holds the stay gradually — a few seconds at a time — before you even think about moving away from them. Many owners try to add distance too early and the dog breaks the stay, which teaches them that stay is optional. It isn’t.
Add Distance in Small Steps
Once your Pom will hold a stay for 15–20 seconds with you standing right in front of them, take one step back. Reward. Take two steps back. Reward. Return to your dog to deliver the treat rather than calling them to you — saving the “come” command for its own distinct purpose helps avoid muddying the signals.
| Stage | Duration | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 2–5 seconds | Standing beside dog |
| Stage 2 | 10–15 seconds | Standing in front |
| Stage 3 | 20–30 seconds | 1–2 steps back |
| Stage 4 | 30–60 seconds | Across the room |
Progress through these stages at your dog’s pace, not yours. Sash moved through the first three stages relatively quickly but needed more time at Stage 4 — she’d catch me making eye contact from across the room and interpret it as an invitation to come bounding over. Not exactly a stay.
How to Teach a Pomeranian to Come
Recall is arguably the most important command on this list and the one that takes the most consistent practice. A Pomeranian who comes reliably when called is a safer, happier dog.
Never Punish a Dog for Coming to You
This is non-negotiable. If your Pom comes to you after a delay, after running around the garden for ten minutes, or after doing something you didn’t like — you still reward them for coming. If you tell them off when they finally arrive, they learn that coming to you ends badly. You’ll destroy your recall. Always make coming to you the best possible outcome.
The Basic Recall Method
- Get low. Crouch down to your dog’s level — it’s less intimidating and more inviting.
- Use an upbeat voice. Say your dog’s name followed by “come!” in a bright, happy tone. Sound like something good is about to happen.
- Back away slightly. Moving away from your dog as you call them triggers their natural instinct to chase and follow.
- Reward big. When they reach you, make it a celebration. Treats, praise, a fuss — whatever your dog loves most. This is a high-value command, so the reward needs to match.
Using a Long Line
When you start practising recall outdoors, use a long training lead — typically 5 to 10 metres — so your dog has freedom to move but you have control if needed. This is especially important for Pomeranians, who are small enough to slip through gaps and fast enough to get into trouble quickly. You can find useful guidance on building recall and other foundational skills in this overview of basic Pomeranian training.
Practise in Real Life
Don’t just recall your dog in training sessions. Call them to you randomly throughout the day — before a meal, when you’re offering a cuddle, when you’re about to go for a walk. Every time they come, reward it. Recall should become a well-worn habit, not a command they only hear when something’s about to end.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Repeating commands. If you say “sit, sit, SIT” your dog learns that sit means nothing until you’ve said it three times. Say it once, clearly.
- Training when you’re frustrated. Dogs read energy. If you’re tense, your Pom will be too. End the session and come back when you’re both in a better headspace.
- Inconsistent rules. If one person in the house lets the dog jump up while another corrects it, training falls apart. Everyone needs to use the same commands and expectations.
- Skipping the foundation. Trying to teach stay before sit is solid, or recall before stay is reliable, slows everything down. Do it in order.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age should I start teaching my Pomeranian to sit, stay, and come?
You can begin basic training as early as eight weeks old. Puppies are capable of learning simple commands very young, and early training builds good habits before unwanted ones take hold. Keep sessions especially short for young puppies — two to three minutes is plenty at that age.
My Pomeranian knows sit but won’t do it when we’re outside. What am I doing wrong?
You’re not doing anything wrong — you’ve just hit a normal stage of training called generalisation. Dogs don’t automatically transfer a command learned indoors to a distracting outdoor environment. You need to re-teach the command in each new setting, starting from the basics again and gradually increasing difficulty. It usually goes much faster the second time around.
How long does it take to teach a Pomeranian to come reliably?
Reliable recall takes weeks to months of consistent practice — not days. The basics can come together quickly, but a truly reliable recall in high-distraction environments requires ongoing reinforcement throughout your dog’s life. Think of recall less as a lesson and more as a habit you keep practising.
Should I use a clicker for training my Pomeranian?
Clicker training works extremely well with Pomeranians because it marks the exact moment of correct behaviour with a precise, consistent signal. That said, it’s not essential — a clear verbal marker like “yes!” works just as well if used consistently. The tool matters less than how precisely and consistently you use it.
Why does my Pomeranian ignore the stay command when I move too far away?
This usually means you’ve increased distance before building sufficient duration. Go back to basics — ask for a short stay right in front of you, reward generously, and rebuild distance more gradually than you think you need to. Most Pomeranians that break the stay early are not being stubborn; they simply haven’t yet learned that staying in place until released is what earns the reward.