How to teach "Stay"

Hi,
I'm sorry for such a really daft question...but how do you train your dogs to "Stay"?
I'm trying with Stella, I tell her "Sit"; give her a treat; then "Stay", I'm in front of her, my palm against her face, 10 cm, but she is looking for more treats and won't stay sitting
And when I skip the treat after "Sit" the result is the same because she wonders why she didn't get anything...so she either goes to investigate or tries to lay down and then goes to investigate anyway because she knows that she gets treats for laying down as well... Maybe I'm just trying when she is excited? Maybe I should try after her breakfest or after her dinner?
Thanks for any ideas, I know it really IS daft....

Not daft at all. Have her sit give a reward and tell her stay. Back away just a bit and if she stays give the treat. If she moves just repeat. They are food motivated but I don't like to train right before or after meal time. They are either too hungry or too full. Try splitting the difference so the treats are like a snack.

Also, you should have her sit and wait before every meal.

I have done it with my pup at eating times he sits and waits till i tell him, now he does it with treats, it hasn't taken that long but just kept at it, 3 weeks for his food and he is 10 weeks.

Hi, thanks;-)
Yes I always tell her to sit before I give her her meal I don't have to tell her anymore, she sits straight away to get the food without any delay
OK, I will just keep trying with the "Stay" as you recommend I guess it'll take a while for her to understand what I mean - just now it seems that she's so interested in getting the treat that she does not pay much attention to what's going on, like commands and stuff
Best wishes, thanks again!
M.

I don't use treats for the stay, because treats will get a dog's attention & bring them towards you.

On lead, I tell them to sit with them by my side, say "stay" & then just place myself in front of them with my hand towards them, palm facing them. Then I walk back to their side & praise. Do this several times, just staying in front of them for a few seconds & returning to their side. Once they're happy with that, you can do the same thing, but this time make one step backwards, still saying "stay" & with your palm facing them. Then return to the dog's side. If at any time they move, you can use the lead to bring them round to where they started & begin again.

Continue to do this until you reach the end of the lead. Then you can try dropping the lead when you step backwards. After that, just increase the distance gradually.

Never get angry or impatient with the stay. You've probably spent hours & hours getting your dog to always come to you & stay with you, so it's a bit difficult for them to grasp the stay to start with! If the dog moves at any time, just pick up the lead, take them back to where they started & try again.

I never do more than about 5 minutes at a time until they're virtually bomb proof!

Hi,
thanks, yes this sounds that it could work
I will try as soon as she wakes up

Don't worry I never get angry at her, I know she can't do it now because I have not trained her so she does not know what I want to, poor thing It happened to me once when she was eating rubish again and again and again outside, I really shouted at her that time once and I still feel guilty because I remember that day it was something completely else what bothered me and the poor dog got the result... I'm usually quite a placid and patient person when it comes to animals/pets and Stella in particular, she is so funny They deserve it, don't they...

Thanks!
M.

Excellent advice Caryll.

I have a very odd method of training stay, but it does work...erm, but seems to have quite a few tips here, so all is well.

Skullkandi wrote:I have a very odd method of training stay, but it does work...erm, but seems to have quite a few tips here, so all is well.

Would love to hear your method. The more idea the better.

It's really weird.
Right, it needs two people, a solid vertical surface, a 10ft+ training leash, a stafford and two people.

Right, first of all, you have someone behind the solid surface, where the dog cannot see them. The dog is on lead with hidden person 2, who has threaded the lead through the solid surface (we used a plyboard barrier) and attached it to said Stafford and the animal is in the SIT position.

The owner, person 1 is in front to the animal and asks for STAY before moving away. If the dog moves the lead is checked slightly, basically gentle tension is made and continued until the dog goes to sit again and tension is dropped.

This is continued for longer and longer periods, but each time, the dog is rewarded. This works for distance commands as well.

I hope that makes sense.
I repeat, do NOT use a check chain, prong collar or anything on those lines because of the gentle tension used on the lead. You don't want to choke the poor thing to death.

I'm still going with the method shown at puppy classes, which is get her to sit and gradually step away from her for a longer period of time/distance, then give her a treat. I'm having limited success though, I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or it's Violet being her usual self and just doing as she pleases. I would have hoped that in 5 months we would have built up a better distance than the length of the kitchen!

Skullkandi wrote:Right, first of all, you have someone behind the solid surface, where the dog cannot see them. The dog is on lead with hidden person 2, who has threaded the lead through the solid surface (we used a plyboard barrier) and attached it to said Stafford and the animal is in the SIT position.
The owner, person 1 is in front to the animal and asks for STAY before moving away. If the dog moves the lead is checked slightly, basically gentle tension is made and continued until the dog goes to sit again and tension is dropped.

The only problem with this one is timing. The person with the lead can't see the dog & so can't check until the dog actually moves. If you can see the dog you can repeat the stay command as soona s the dog prepares to move.

linzy wrote:I'm still going with the method shown at puppy classes, which is get her to sit and gradually step away from her for a longer period of time/distance, then give her a treat. I'm having limited success though, I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or it's Violet being her usual self and just doing as she pleases. I would have hoped that in 5 months we would have built up a better distance than the length of the kitchen!

Some dogs pick up the stay command in a very short time. Others will take quite a long time. It's a difficult thing to teach some dogs, especially if their recall is very good. They have got so used to being near you that sitting still while you walk away is hard for them - they just want to be with you!

P.S. The length of the kitchen really isn't that bad!

Caryll wrote:

linzy wrote:I'm still going with the method shown at puppy classes, which is get her to sit and gradually step away from her for a longer period of time/distance, then give her a treat. I'm having limited success though, I don't know if I'm doing it wrong or it's Violet being her usual self and just doing as she pleases. I would have hoped that in 5 months we would have built up a better distance than the length of the kitchen!

Some dogs pick up the stay command in a very short time. Others will take quite a long time. It's a difficult thing to teach some dogs, especially if their recall is very good. They have got so used to being near you that sitting still while you walk away is hard for them - they just want to be with you!

P.S. The length of the kitchen really isn't that bad!

Its funny you should say that, recall is probably the one and only thing she's any good at! She's a limpet of a dog - even off lead she doesn't stray far.

See, it's an odd method. But they can see through the hole in plywood. We made two holes XDD It worked so well, though XD

we would use one kind of treat that lemmy loved just for training. the little cocktail saucages he would crap on command for those so we only let him have them for trianing so he would keep his focus on what you wanted to do.