Teaching your dog to "stay" reliably

One of the first commands most dogs learn is, "stay". Stay is a skill every dog needs to know for safety and general basic obedience. But, teaching your dog stay and ensuring that he's reliable with it takes practice. Here's where to start:

I recommend teaching your release before the verbal command of, "stay". Doing this will shape and capture the behavior of staying in the same spot until told otherwise. Painting a very clear picture for your dog, "stay" means don't move and "release" ('ok', 'free', 'come', etc.) means its okay to move out of that position now that I've commanded it.

I recommend pushing your dog to stay for longer periods of time and with more and more distance between you. This way, he's more equipped to perform this command in all sorts of situations.

Another great way to push your dog with this command is to give him a variety of distractions such as bouncing a ball, bringing him to a park with the distractions of other dogs and people (using a long lead for stay with distance), while you eat dinner, opening the front door, etc.

Doing so and challenging him to be reliable in each situation (only rewarding the behavior you want to see) will ensure that your dog is able to "stay" no matter what's going on around you!

With any specific training questions, don't be shy! Message Busy Dog today so we can help with all of your training needs.