How To Teach Stay To A 6mth Puppy

[chloebear]

I have managed to teach come and sit but am having no luck with getting her to stay. How should I be teaching her this?

[Reddii]

I have managed to teach come and sit but am having no luck with getting her to stay. How should I be teaching her this?

I was taught two different ways - same result, but depends on your dog and outlook.

with both methods the key is to make sure you start off with VERY small distances and on lead. Put you dog in position (sit, down, stand - both mine found down easier to begin with (lazy!)) and tell them to stay in your command voice. At the same time bring your hand across your body and into their face as if you are closing the door (this is just the hand signal for further down the track). Then take 1/2 a step away for a second or so and return to your dog - make sure that when you get back you give heaps of praise for the stay. Then as you dog is more and more solid at that distance increase your distance and/or time. The big thing is not to put too much pressure on the dog by increasing this too quickly.

The other key in both methods is not to let you dog break the stay - once they do this they know they can and will.

This is where the two methods differ.

1. - I'll call it aversive or correction based because i'm not sure of the true wording. When your dog breaks a stay quickly grab them and give a quick correction (I was taught using a check chain) a loud 'arrrgh'. and then put them back on the spot with another correction. ONce they are back in position - heaps of praise and begin the process again. Theory is that your dog will get the picture that if they break a stay they will get an unpleasant correction and stop doing it. I taught my bitch this way and in hind sight it was too harsh on her and took a few months to totally win her confidence back - ie: when I put her on a stay and returned to her she always thought she was going to get a correction and shied her head away. That said she is now almost 100% solid on her stays - even in the middle of a flyball ring! The only time I have a problem is when she gets too excited at the start of an agility sequence.

2. Positive reinforcement. When your dog breaks a stay calmly take them back and put them back on the spot, no fuss, no eye contact. Once they are back in position heaps of praise and the same whenever you return to your dog. I used this with my boy and while his stays aren't quite as solid yet (he's still very much a puppy at 12 months) there are other benefits in the way we are bonding. ETA - at four months he was already pretty good at his stays and will now at 12 months mostly holds his stay even amongst other dogs that are running around playing. (I can only get about 6 feet away and definitely not out of sight.)

I find I now use a combination of the two with both dogs. Put my dog on a stay, if I see it start to move I'll verbally correct it, and if it totally breaks the stay I'll then calmly put it back on the spot.

As I said the big key is not to work too quickly on this and HEAPS of praise for doing the right thing and working out whether your dog will react better to a neutral response or correction if they get it wrong.

I'm sure others will have more input, but hope this helps.

Edited November 23, 2007 by Reddii

[helen]

Golden rule - work on either distance or time, do not try and increase both at once. Also set it up so the dog is successful and take a step back if dog is not successful at what you are asking.

Best and most simple way I have seen that works if the dog can sit -

have dog in front of you and get the dog to sit, tell it stay with signal and before the dog moves step in to the dog and praise.

Once the dog is good at this then you can increase distance slightly by taking a step backwards after telling the dog to stay, then before the dog moves step into the dog and praise.

build up from there to a small distance and when that is very firm in the dogs mind then you could start building up time in small increments.

[pawsaroundoz]

In agreement with previous posters, I prefer building time to a reasonable peiod then working on distance - of course when you start on distance to begin with cut back the time a little and work up again.

If you watch your dog closely and it is considering a break some sort of movement will tell you what is on the dogs mind and you will be able to pre-empt it!

I differ in one area from the previous posters though - I do not use the word 'stay'. Whatever the position the dog has been told to assume is what it is doing, until I tell my dog to do something different.

I have followed this line since reading a very interesting paper/article by a trainer called Honey Gross Richardson, I really liked the things she wrote and enjoyed her thinking style of dog interaction.....I have never seen any books by her alas or I would have bought one yonks ago!

Good Luck

Annie and her boyz

[sidoney]

This is from my puppy guide:

6. Stay

There are a couple of ways of teaching "stay". One may work better for you than the other.

First way

Have the dog lying beside you. Your hand closest to the dog lightly holds its collar, not putting pressure on it, but also not letting it move forwards.

Your other hand places some food a little in front of the dog, out of its reach. It will try to get the food. Just hold the dog still with the collar, don’t pull against it.

Immediately it stops pulling towards the food, reward it. Reward each time it stops pulling. (Edit: you can reward from different food or from the food that is in front of it. The main thing is that it associates staying still with getting the reward.)

Surprisingly soon, it will stop pulling towards the food.

Start saying "stay" while holding your hand in front of its face (this is the stay signal). Then reward.

Start moving your hand from the dog’s collar (being ready to grab just in case).

Start extending the time between the command and the reward.

Stop putting food on the ground in front of the dog before asking it to stay.

Teach it to stay in a sit and a stand.

This method sounds a little complex but is actually one of the best ways I have seen to teach a puppy to stay. The dog rapidly begins to understand what is being asked of it.

Second method

Have the dog sitting beside or in front of you.

Say "stay" and move a tiny step away then back immediately before the dog moves. Reward the dog immediately.

Very gradually increase the distance or the time away from the dog (not both at the same time). Reward the dog when you get back to it.

If the dog moves, don't reprimand. Just put the dog back in position and try again, but easier (closer or a shorter time). You have done too much too quickly.

Teach the dog to stay while lying down, then while standing.

Gradually start to delay the reward.

Gradually start to reward intermittently.

Edited November 23, 2007 by sidoney

[wolfhoundsrule]

Hi Chloebear,

I taught my dogs to stay by similar methods as stated above. The only thing that I was taught different was when telling your dog to stay always step off with your right leg when they are in the heel position as they are less likely to follow you and eventually they will read that body language. Hope that makes sense.

Amanda.

[Echo]

I agree with the other posters on the various methods.

I am also with "Carlins' mum" on not actually using the word "stay".

Whatever position you command your dog to adopt, should be maintained by the dog until you give it a further command.

I can't see the point in giving two seperate commands for the one action.

On top of everything else, I have found it VERY helpful to use a Release word on completion of the excercise.

For eg: if you command your dog to sit, the dog should stay sitting until further command. If you do not intend to give the dog further command, such as "drop' or "heel", then you can use a release word, such as "free" or "OK".

This makes it clear to the dog that it is allowed to break the position, and the excercise is over.

Julie

[sidoney]

Yes, the release is essential.

[Miranda]

Have a look at the Triangle of Temptation, I used this to train my dogs to stay and it is highly effective, probably because you are training in drive. My dogs will now stay indefinitely, even when I am out of sight.

[bordacollies4me]

How would i teach a stay, probably completly different than those described...

i start with my dog or puppy, first teaching them a sit using click and reward, do not cue the sit until i know the dog will offer a sit, when the dog offers a sit and i can predict when they are about to do it i then cue it... once i cue it the first time i then quickly reward at least 5 times for being in the sit position... then i release with the release word... i then build on this by asking dog to sit and getting those rewards in for holding position.... i gradually increase the time between rewrds and then vary the positions around my body, in front and both sides.. when dog will sit once being told without breaking in various positions, i then work on distance... start beside my dog, make a slight forward body movement or right knee movement, and C/R for holding do this a few times release do g play game... gradually i increase the body movement to 1/2 step one step 2 steps etc..... doing this whilst mnaintaing criteria of dog is not allowed to have any forward movement... at no point have i asked the dog to stay or used any hand signals, only cue is for dog to sit... then i build upon this further by walking further away, taking 2 stepos facing the dog rewarding, when i start to move around the dog i do so gradually rewarding frequently for holding position gradually working my way around the dog untill i can walk all around, i don't walk closely around i gice the dog a bit of space at initial training... if the dog breaks at anystage i don't reprimand i say nothing put them back into position move away and reward for holding position.... Its the dogs choice to stay and if they do so then they will be rewarded... if they break i have probably asked too much and take a small step back... then challenge again... i always release at times to have a play session, or stress breaking session...

This method works well for me....