Teaching your dog to stay...

**Oxide** · by **Oxide** on Wed 28 Oct 2009, 19:14

This is going to sound lengthy but I'm posting step by step in detail - lol - and I can almost guarantee if you take your time and follow the steps you'll have a reliable steady dog in stays.

Tips before you start:

* When teaching your dog to stay/wait/there - don't go forward in leaps and bounds - slow half steps from the beginning makes your pup/dog feel more secure as you increase the distance.
* Whenever your dog breaks it's stay - take it back to the position it started from and redo the exercise from a shorter distance.
* Choose one word stay/wait/there and stick to it. Some schools say you should teach your dog stay and wait so they learn one can be broken - in recall - and one not, I've never bothered and my dogs (all 3) are very steady.
* Don't do to many repetitions of the exercise. 2/3 a few times a day.
* Start off by practicing in your house or yard where your dog will be comfortable and not scared you're leaving.
* REMEMBER lots of treats and praise!!

Teaching Stay:

1. Put your dog in a sit/down (whichever it's most comfortable in) on lead, on your left side in the heel position.
* Say it's name so it's looking at you - then say STAY clearly and keeping one hand on it's head or neck, take a step forward with your right foot, leaving your left foot in place next to the dog and immediately step back and praise your dog in the sit/down position. It's not to get up.
* If your dog was comfortable with that move to the next step, if it was not repeat till they are.
* Repeat the first step but wait a 5 count before stepping back.
* Keep doing that till your dog stays comfortably down for about 30 seconds without you touching it.
2. Now you can start moving your left foot. Tell your dog stay, move your right foot (like they're used to) but now move your left foot next to your right and immediately step back and praise.
* Keep repeating that till they're steady for about 30 seconds.
* If your dog gets up - go back to step 1 for 1/2 tries.
3. Now that you have the basics you can slowly build up to taking two/ three/four steps away from your dog.

Remember:

* When increasing the distance - go out of your dogs comfort zone and immediately back into it.
* When increasing the time they have to stay down do it in 2/3 second increments and if they look uncomfortable immediately go back and praise before they get up.
* Don't yell or harshly reprimand your dog if it does get up - just tell it no, take it back to the starting position and redo. Don't get irritated - rather leave it for a while.
It's a very unnatural thing to teach so you wna tyour dog to be confidant in what it's doing.
* Don't push your luck, it defeats the whole purpose if your dog gets up.
* Don't expect a puppy or young dog to stay for to long.
* Teaching sit, down or stand stay works on the same principle
* If you have a long lead, do the stays with your dog on it. It provides security for your dog.