Can someone tell me how to teach the "stay" command?

1811 Views 19 Replies 13 Participants Last post by KBLover, Apr 29, 2009

marsha=whitie

Discussion Starter · Mar 2, 2009 (Edited)

I'm completely lost when it comes to that. I taught my dogs how to sit, lay down, give me five, give me high fives, and to touch. Now, its time for the stay. Does anyone have an easy stay method that they could share with me? pwease??

Now, I'm gonna assume that its a LOT easier to train one dog at a time, right? is it possible to train two at a time? Just curious.

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MrsJohnnyG

· #2 · Mar 2, 2009

I've been doing it with baby steps (VERRRRY gradually lengthening the time I have them stay, and the distance -- like a fraction of an inch longer at a time) and tons of treats. I was so excited last night when one of my babies kept the "stay" even while I opened and backed out of the door and shut it... trust me, I never thought my hyper puppies would get it! Oh, and doing the "talk to the hand" motion while they're staying has always seemed to help. I should probably be working with them one at a time, but so far I've been working with both at once, and it's going well.

hulkamaniac

· #3 · Mar 2, 2009

I've got a book that details how to do it with a clicker. I've not tried it yet. Basically it involves lengthening the time between the time the dog performs the behavior and the time the dog gets clicked for said behavior.

marsha=whitie

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 2, 2009

I don't use the clicker; it confuses me.

ambercober

· #5 · Mar 2, 2009

I'm sure others can think of a better way, but here goes:
with my guy I started with a sit postion.
Told him to stay, and held my hand up like your telling some to stop.
Keeping my hand up I walked away from him, but walking backwards so I can watch him.

When he started to get up from the sit I would sound a correction, like a quick "ah" and repeat the sit command and I would immediatly stop walking backwards uintil he sat again. If he not only got up from the sit postion but started to follow me, I would walk him back to the same starting spot and have him sit again. Then I'd go through the process again and again until I was able to stand about 10 feet away. Then he would get the come command with tons of lovin and treats.

I tried not to spend too much time at once doing this training otherwise he would get hyper and lose focus *lol. About 10 minutes either way, wether it was successful more often then/or not *l. It didn't really take him long and if your pooch allready has the basics down you'll do just fine.

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Allie3985

· #6 · Mar 2, 2009

Alright this is going to be a long post. . .

Have dog sit (preferably on your left side in "heel" position on a leash - even if inside your home).
Tell dog to stay and give your choice of hand signal.
Pivot out in front of your dog so that you are now facing him and you are "toe to toe" with him. Do so confidently, as if you know your dog is already going to stay (if you apear unsure then the dog will be as well).
- Always walk away from your dog with your right foot if you want him to stay and with your left foot if you want him to come with you. He will eventually pick up on this.
Wait a few seconds and then pivot back into heel position.
Release your dog (pick a specific realease word such as "free" that means he is done with his stay). This is very important!
Praise and treat!

If at any time before you have given your release word the dog should break, put him back exactly where he was and tell him to stay again and go back to the toe to toe position. You might have to do this ALOT before he finally has success. I prefer not to give any "correction," simply quietly put dog back where he was.

Your next step is to lengthen the period of time that you are toe to toe. After you are successfully adding time, start to add distance. After adding time and distance, start to add distractions such as doing this on a street corner (on leash!) or with other dogs around or while you jump around and make funny faces. Whenever you add distance or distractions you will want to shorten the amount of time and then build it up again.

Whew! Hope that makes sense.

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pamperedpups

· #7 · Mar 2, 2009

Firstly, I wouldn't start giving a stay cue until the dog has an excellent understanding of a long duration sit, down or stand, with distractions and distance from the handler. Once your dogs have that, you might find, as I have, that you really have no use for the stay cue. I simply tell my dog to sit, down or stand and release them when I am ready. I built those behaviors with duration, distractions and distance using the 300 peck method:

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1557

Allie3985

· #8 · Mar 2, 2009

pamperedpups said:
Firstly, I wouldn't start giving a stay cue until the dog has an excellent understanding of a long duration sit, down or stand, with distractions and distance from the handler. Once your dogs have that, you might find, as I have, that you really have no use for the stay cue. I simply tell my dog to sit, down or stand and release them when I am ready. I built those behaviors with duration, distractions and distance using the 300 peck method:

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/1557

The reason that I need a stay command is when I work with all three of mine at the same time I need, for example, to have Merry and Pickles "down stay" while Zerbert is "sit, front, swing, ect." They know that "stay" means not to move until they hear "free." If I just say sit and then stand I expect the dog to sit and then stand. If I say "sit - stay" and then "stand" I expect the dog to ignore the stand command and honor the stay.

Also for agility I like to have a seperate "wait" command which means to hold still until I give the next command, but I don't give a release word for a "wait."

Not everyone needs a stay command though, you're right. Especially a "stand-stay," if they aren't staying in a stand then it is really a walk isn't it?

Cheetah

· #9 · Mar 2, 2009

marsha=whitie said:
I don't use the clicker; it confuses me.

The clicker is so easy though. Have you seen these videos? Before I started clicker training, I checked these out.
http://www.clickertrainusa.com/clicker-training-videos.htm

(There are also 3 separate ones on teaching "stay.") >^_^<

pamperedpups

· #10 · Mar 2, 2009

I can still work all of my dogs together without stay. I simply add the dog's name that I am working with in front of the cues for them. For example, I can say, "Tater, down. Max, down. Pood sit, stand. Tater, front" and all of them know exactly who I am cuing to do what.

As for a wait cue in Agility, I haven't found that I need (or want) my dogs to slow down on course, but that's me and my dogs.

That said, not releasing nose touches at the end of contacts right away can provide a wait if they come at the right time.

KBLover

· #11 · Mar 3, 2009 (Edited)

pamperedpups said:
Firstly, I wouldn't start giving a stay cue until the dog has an excellent understanding of a long duration sit, down or stand, with distractions and distance from the handler. Once your dogs have that, you might find, as I have, that you really have no use for the stay cue. I simply tell my dog to sit, down or stand and release them when I am ready. I built those behaviors with duration, distractions and distance using the 300 peck method:

This is similar to how I taught Wally, though I did teach him the "stay" cue after a while, I guess just for the heck of it

Lil Red Express

· #12 · Mar 3, 2009

What do you clicker folks do when you go out to friends places or to the park and you want your dog to do things ? Do you have to bring that clicker thing with you every where ? I think that sound would get on my nerves .

Cheetah said:
The clicker is so easy though. Have you seen these videos? Before I started clicker training, I checked these out.
http://www.clickertrainusa.com/clicker-training-videos.htm

(There are also 3 separate ones on teaching "stay.") >^_^<

Allie3985

· #13 · Mar 3, 2009

pamperedpups said:
As for a wait cue in Agility, I haven't found that I need (or want) my dogs to slow down on course, but that's me and my dogs. That said, not releasing nose touches at the end of contacts right away can provide a wait if they come at the right time.

I wish I was a good enough handler to not want my dogs to slow down on course! Lol, sometimes I need a moment to think with my border collie mix so that I don't send her jumping into a wall. She's so fast that I have given an "out" command too late and had her fall off the top of t he A frame. Very bad

(of me, not her)!

KBLover

· #14 · Mar 3, 2009

Lil Red Express said:
What do you clicker folks do when you go out to friends places or to the park and you want your dog to do things ? Do you have to bring that clicker thing with you every where ? I think that sound would get on my nerves .

The clicker is for learning behaviors, but it's not the only thing. You can use your voice to mark behavior.

If I'm going to ask the dog to do things it already knows in-and-out (like sit or lie down) then I don't need the clicker or mark it at all.

Curbside Prophet

· #15 · Mar 3, 2009

Lil Red Express said:
What do you clicker folks do when you go out to friends places or to the park and you want your dog to do things ? Do you have to bring that clicker thing with you every where ? I think that sound would get on my nerves .

If the dog has learned the behavior, the clicker isn't needed. The clicker is meant to be used during the acquisition of a behavior, but unnecessary thereafter. But if your dog is still acquiring the behavior, a friends house or the park is a good place to train the behavior once your dog is ready to do so.

rosemaryninja

· #16 · Mar 3, 2009 (Edited)

I think the most common mistake in training "stay" is asking too much, too early. There are a few criteria when it comes to a good "stay" -- in other words, a few things that you're asking your dog for: duration (a long stay), distance (a stay from afar) and distraction level (a stay in the dog park as opposed to a stay in your backyard). Train only ONE criteria at a time, and when you start out training "stay" for the first time, all three criteria should be as low as possible.

That means you put the dog in a sit right in front of you, in a low-distraction environment, and expect the butt to stay on the ground for all of maybe one second. If the dog tries to get up, you can either use a no reward marker or say "ah ah"; stick your hands out in a stop sign and put the dog back into a sit. Remember, you only want ONE second of sitting, not more. If the dog can do this one second, praise and treat. Don't add a "stay" cue yet.

As your dog masters the 1-second stay, right in front of you, you can start increasing the criteria. For example, you may ask for a 3-second stay right in front of you. But remember, when you want to start tightening one criteria, all the others must go back to zero (or as low as possible). For example, you want to work on distance -- then you go back to 1-second stays, 2 metres away from you, in a low-distraction environment. Or if you want to work on distraction level, you go back to 1-second stays, right in front of you, in a higher-distraction environment.

Hope that wasn't too confusing.

Lil Red Express said:
What do you clicker folks do when you go out to friends places or to the park and you want your dog to do things ? Do you have to bring that clicker thing with you every where ? I think that sound would get on my nerves .

CP and KB pretty much covered it. The clicker is only needed when your dog is learning a new behaviour. Once he's fully learned the new behaviour, you don't need the clicker anymore.

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drea

· #17 · Apr 29, 2009

When can you be sure the dog has "fully learned" the new behavior? When he does it 95% of the time? Tucker is going through the adolescent stage and while I "think" he knows the behavior, he sometimes chooses not to do it.

pattymac

· #18 · Apr 29, 2009

Bayley does her stay quite well now but I'm learning a few refinements from our new trainer. We worked on that tonight. We were doing stays on a table, helps reinforce it. We don't treat until we release the dog from the stay, using what ever word you want and moving away from the spot and then treating.

rosemaryninja

· #19 · Apr 29, 2009

drea said:
When can you be sure the dog has "fully learned" the new behavior? When he does it 95% of the time? Tucker is going through the adolescent stage and while I "think" he knows the behavior, he sometimes chooses not to do it.

Does it really make a difference whether he doesn't know it or is choosing not to do it? Not in my opinion. You have to be aware that there are several different factors that influence whether a dog performs a good stay or not. He may perform it at 6 feet, but at 8 feet. He may perform it in the backyard, but not on the sidewalk. Whether he knows it or just doesn't consider it rewarding enough, the answer is to keep practicing.

KBLover

· #20 · Apr 29, 2009

drea said:
When can you be sure the dog has "fully learned" the new behavior? When he does it 95% of the time? Tucker is going through the adolescent stage and while I "think" he knows the behavior, he sometimes chooses not to do it.

If he can do it once on cue just out of the blue (i.e. not while still working on the same thing in a session), then I'd say he knows what you're talking about.

If he won't do it consistently - then there's reasons why from "rebelling" to just not learned in that context yet (dogs are context learners) to just not that good at it yet (just like if you learned how to do something, you might do it right once - but then the next few times, get something wrong or have to look at the steps again)

Either way - it's not a near reflex response as I like to think of it, and thus needs more practice/explaining to the dog.

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