Training Your Dog to Stay

Gain Greater Control Over Your Dog

Stay gives you greater control

Once your dog has learned “sit”, training your dog to stay will let you increase the duration of the "sit" and eventually the "down". Once your dog knows and understands “stay”, you can keep him from jumping on guests coming through the door. You can also put him in a stay to keep him from grabbing your sandwich or begging at the table.

Steps for Training Your Dog to Stay

1. To begin, face your dog and place him in a sit.

2. Put a dime size or smaller tasty treat between your first and index fingers

3. Use the stay hand signal . Put your hand out with palm facing the dog. Think of a traffic cop saying “halt”.

4. He will focus on the treat in your hand and should not move.

5. After a few seconds of him "staying", give him the treat.

6. After a few more seconds say a release word. This can be “all done” or “ok”. It is a different word than your positive word. This word will let the dog know that the stay has ended and he is free to move. Pat your knees or make other motion to cause the dog to move as you say the release word.

7. Give him another small treat with your positive word letting him know that all you wanted was a brief (few second) stay.

Proper Sequence of Events

a. put the dog in a sit

b. motion with your hand for him to stay

c. after a brief moment, say the release word with motion to get him to move

d. give positive word for job well done along with the treat.

Tips for Success

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While teaching stay initially and increasing the duration, you can give the dog multiple treats during the actual stay. This helps reinforce that he is doing the right thing. As your dog gets better at the stay, start treating only at the end of the stay immediately after he has been released from it.

If the dog gets up during the stay, tell him your negative word, remove the treat. Put him back in the sit and try again. He only gets the treat when he does not move from the sit.

Your dog will quickly and easily stay for a second or two. The challenge comes when you start asking for longer duration or have more distance or even start adding distractions.

Set goals for you and your dog. Work up to a 2 minute stay then a 5 minute stay, 10 minutes etc. A dog that truly knows stay will stay for hours until released, but it takes time and patience to work up to that level. Slowly increase the distance as well. Start by standing immediately in front of your dog. Take a few steps back, move back 10 feet, 20 feet etc. See if you can walk out of the room and come back. Add distractions to the mix. Try bouncing a tennis ball or squeaking a toy.

Adding distance, durations and distractions when training your dog to stay will make it more difficult for the dog. But these will also help him master the stay.

Incorporate the stay into your daily routine to reinforce the behavior. Put your dog in a stay at dinner time to prevent him from begginig. Put your dog in a stay when you have company over to keep him from jumping on your guests. Put your dog in a stay while opening the door for a walk or to let him out in the back yard. Start with short durations and few distractions and work your way up to longer durations with the distractions. You will soon have a dog that can be trusted not to stay and not steal the sandwich when you leave the room.

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