Stay
Most bad dog behavior can be solved if you have a strong stay command on your
dog. That means this is definitely a behavior worth working on. There isn’t a
lot of trouble your dog can get into while he’s patiently staying and waiting
for your release.
Before you begin teaching stay, you must remember the three D’s!
Distance: How far is your dog?
Duration: How long are you asking your dog to stay?
Distraction: What else is going on that you’re competing with?
Once you’ve asked those three questions, you’re ready to start training. You
will begin by asking your dog for a 1 second 1 foot stay. This looks a lot like
a sit. You’re going to give the cue “stay” and then your hand signal. After one
second, you will reward your dog with his training bait.
After your dog has successfully complete the 1 second, 1 foot stay, you can
increase the difficultly by asking for longer duration or longer distance. After
he has completed several steps at the new level, you can make it harder again.
Here is a schedule that you can follow:
2 second, one foot stay
3 second, one foot stay
4 second, one foot stay
5 second, one foot stay
1 second, two foot stay
2second, two foot stay
5 second, two foot stay
Notice, I am only increase either the distance OR the duration at a time. You
want to set your dog up for success and you will do that by gradually making his
stays harder. If at any time your dog doesn’t hold the stay, you’ve moved too
quickly for him. Decrease the difficulty of your stay either by moving closer or
asking for less time, and then try again. Once he has done each several
successful runs, then you can increase the difficulty again.
After you have distance and duration down, you can start working on distraction.
This is the hardest of the D’s to work on. When you add in things that are more
distracting whether the be toys, food, or a more exciting place, remember to
keep the other two D’s really simple. So, the first time you work on stay on one
of your walks, take him back down to a 1 second, 1 foot stay and slowly work him
up again. Good luck!
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Frequently Asked
Questions - Stay
What should I do if he breaks his stay?
Say "Whoops" to let him know he just did not earn a
reward. Then put him back in a sit and try again. Remember, if he
broke the stay, it was too hard so lower your distance, duration or distraction.
Set him up for success!
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Green Paws Training Options
We teach and practice Stay in our
Puppy Manners and
Basic Manners group classes.
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Books and Tools
There are no books or tools to recommend for this behavior.
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