How do you teach a dog to stay?
How to teach a dog to stay? | Introduction
One of the things you can introduce whilst your dog is still young is teaching them to stay in a sitting position. It is a simple exercise that should be repeated regularly in different places and situations. It is an exercise that requires a great deal of patience on the part of the owner. Below is a training session with one of my charges: Freja, a female German Shepherd.
How to teach a dog to stay? | Video
Watch this short one-and-a-half-minute video to see just how simple it can be to teach a young dog this very useful exercise.
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How to teach a dog to ‘stay’? | Summary
As you can see, this isn’t a difficult exercise. Start with short distances and reward your dog frequently. Gradually reduce the number of treats whilst increasing the distance and duration. Once you’re confident that your dog can stay, start timing them.
Set the timer to 60 seconds. That’s a very long time. Once your dog can stay for a full minute whilst seeing you, start doing the same exercise whilst hiding. I usually use a training tent for this exercise. In urban settings, simply hide behind a tree or a building (it’s a good idea for someone to observe the dog’s behaviour from a distance and, if necessary, signal for you to change position or move out of the way).
Don’t give up. The ‘stay’ command is a fundamental skill that every working dog must master. It’s essentially part of every sport:
How to teach your dog to stay? | Useful information
When teaching your dog to stay, it’s worth buying a 5-metre webbing lead. This can act as a safety measure for dogs that tend to run off regularly. If you have any questions, are experiencing problems with this exercise, or aren’t sure how to teach your dog to stay, you can make use of our telephone advice service. I’d be happy to help you work through this issue.