HOW TO TEACH A DOG TO STAY VIDEO

by Will Bangura

HOW TO TEACH A DOG TO STAY VIDEO

I get asked all the time How to teach a Dog to Stay. Dog owners tell me they can get their dog to sit and their dog might stay, but their dog will not stay when there are distractions. The times when you need your dog to stay is when there are distractions.

  • Does your dog stay when there are heavy distractions?  
  • Will your dog run off or stop listening when there are a lot of distractions?  
  • Is your dog safe in a down stay command around traffic, children or other animals?
  • Will your dog maintain a down stay command when there is a lot of excitement and chaos going on in the environment?    

If you answered no to any of these questions this dog training video, “How to Teach a Dog to Stay” is a must see dog training video.

HOW TO TEACH A DOG TO STAY STARTS WITH THE DOWN COMMAND

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A dog will always be more reliable in a stay command if the dog is commanded to stay when laying down.  I watch people start to teach stay from a sit command and I always tell them it is a mistake to start to teach stay from sit.  when a dog is in the down position they are more committed to stay by the nature of their body position and posture.

Start teaching the stay when the dog is in the down command or down position.  If your dog is standing or if your dog is sitting your dog is less likely to stay when there is a distraction.  To start to learn how to teach your dog to stay, we always make it the easiest and most successful for the dog and owner to succeed.  Starting to teach your dog to stay is best started in the down position.  

Once the dog can stay in a down command with heavy distractions, teaching your dog to stay in a sit command or to stay while standing is easy.  All the hard work and foundation work on how to teach a dog to stay is done from the down command.

NEVER SAY THE WORD STAY!

How to teach a dog to stay

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In the training programs for Phoenix Dog Training we never say the word or say the command “stay.”  “Stay” is a useless and unnecessary word and command. at Phoenix Dog Training all of our Phoenix Dog Trainers teach three commands as AUTOMATIC IMPLIED STAY COMMANDS.  The three commands that are taught at Phoenix Dog Obedience Training that are automatic implied stay commands are “Down,” “Place,” and “Sit.” “Sit” means to sit and stay, “Place” means to go to your place and stay.  “Down” means get in the down position and stay laying down.

How to teach a dog to stay does not happen with the words we use or the commands we use.  How to teach a dog to stay happens as a result of teaching a dog that staying with distractions has value for the dog in the form of a high value reward.

  • If you ask your dog to sit and stay, and your dog breaks from the stay command what would you tell your dog next?
  • If you ask your dog to go down and stay, and your dog stands up or walks away, what would you tell your dog next?
  • If you asked your dog to down and stay and your dog does not, do you say down again?  Do you say stay again?  Do you say down and stay again?  Do you say NO?

GIVE ONLY ONE COMMAND 

Phoenix Dog Training how to teach a dog to stay

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Dogs think and learn in “black and white” terms.  Keep it simple and keep it consistent. In how to teach a dog to stay, use only one word for stay.  The one word to use for stay should be “Down.” “Place,” and “Sit.” Why would you want your dog to do anything else then what you just asked your dog to do?  If I command my dog, “down,” I expect my dog to be down.  If my dog gets up, my dog broke the “down” command.  What is clearest to the dog is to re command “Down.” Down was what was commanded.  Down was what is wanted.  When Down does not happen re command Down.

The dog obedience commands of “Down,” “Place,” and “Sit,” ARE ALL STATIONARY COMMANDS to begin with.  The use of the word or command stay with one of these three stationary non movement commands is redundant, unnecessary, and only adds to confusion when learning how to teach a dog to stay. 

RE COMMAND THE LAST RIGHT BEHAVIOR

Dog Training Phoenix how to teach a dog to stay

 

  1. When learning how to teach a dog to stay your job is to give a command that is stationary by nature such as the “Down” command.
  2.  The next step is to keep the dog in the “Down” command and reward with positive reinforcement the correct behavior of down.  
  3. The third step is to re command “Down” anytime your dog stops the down command and behavior.

CREATE DISTRACTIONS AND REWARD CORRECT BEHAVIOR

When learning how to teach a dog to stay, the behavior is learned by creating distractions and rewarding the dog with positive reinforcement for not taking the bait of the distraction and maintaining the stationary command.  The behavior of staying when there are distractions is shaped by presenting the bait of a distraction and rewarding the dog if it does not take the bait.  The behavior of staying when there are distractions is also shaped by re commanding the behavior when the dog does take the bait.

HOW TO TEACH A DOG TO STAY HAPPENS FAST WHEN YOU COMMUNICATE IN A WAY THAT MATCHES AND MIRRORS THE WAY YOUR DOG THINKS AND PROCESSES INFORMATION.

Dog Trainer Phoenix how to teach a dog to stay

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We have often heard that “communication is key.”  When communication is clear, precise, and can be predictive as to a certain pattern, you are “speaking dog!”  Dogs are dialectical in nature.  Dogs learn by classical conditioning and by operant conditioning.  

Classical conditioning happens when two things are paired or bridged together.  An example of classical conditioning is when your cell phone rings you answer it.  The behavior of answering your phone when it rings is learned because the phone ringing has been paired with answering your phone. The timing has to be just right to make the connection between two or more things when they are being paired.  for the example of learning how to teach a dog to stay, the word or command down and the behavior of going down are paired and matched.  the dog learns with the repetitive timing of the word down with the behavior of down, what “Down” means.

Operant conditioning is basically the use of well timed rewards and consequences to shape behavior to increase or decrease.  Behaviors that are rewarded increase.  Behaviors that have consequences decrease.  An example of Operant conditioning in the “Down” as an implied stay training exercise is when the dog gets a high value food reward for staying in the down position when their are distractions.  Another example is when there is the consequence of not getting a food reward, and getting some leash pressure and re command into “Down.” 

With well timed rewards and consequences and very “black and white” communication even difficult behaviors like how to stay when there are insane distractions can be taught with relative ease.

how to teach a dog to stay service dog training

If you are struggling with having your dog listen, pay attention, be obedient and respond to commands, Give Phoenix Dog Training a Call today at (602) 769-1411

 

 

 

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