“Stay” is one of the more difficult commands for dogs to learn. Most dogs learn pretty quickly to stay for a few seconds while you’re actively training them, but getting them to the point where they can stay where they are for longer times, or when you walk out of the room, is much harder.
So how can you do this? How can you get your dog to stay for longer periods of time?
Basic Training Tips
- First, remember to only work on one part of this training at a time. I know you want your dog to be able to increase the duration he stays, the distance you can go, and staying through distractions, but you can’t teach him all of those things at once. Only focus on one of these until your dog has it down, then move on to another.
- Be consistent with your training. If you’re going to allow your dog to transition from sitting to lying down as long as doesn’t move from his spot, then do that every time. Lying down “down” stays are easier for your dog to hold for long periods of time, so there’s nothing wrong with training him to do that.
- Your dog has the attention span of a gnat. Don’t expect to be able to run these training sessions for long periods of time. Fifteen minutes at a stretch is usually plenty.
Training for Duration
Start small when training your dog to stay for longer times. If he’s only managed a stay for ten seconds, try to get him to fifteen or sixteen next time. You can move around, but stay near your dog.
Don’t leave his sight; that’s not what you’re working on here. If your dog breaks his stay before you release him three times in a row, then you’re moving too fast for him, and you need to take him back down to a shorter time and start over.
Training for Distance
Your dog’s natural instinct is usually to follow you wherever you go, so this one will be a little more difficult. Duration doesn’t matter, so as soon as you get to whatever place you’re aiming for, go back and release your dog’s stay immediately.
Start by moving further and further from your dog while staying where he can see you. Once he’s managed to stay for a few minutes with you still in the same room, disappear around a corner for a only a second.
If he keeps his stay, reward him, but don’t release him. If he does ok with you leaving quickly, then you can start combining duration and distance and stay out of his sight for longer and longer stretches. The same rule of three applies here. If your dog fails three times in a row, you need to go back and start over.
Training with Distractions
This is usually the most difficult to do. You really need to go slowly here. Working on stay in a room with just the two of you and no distractions is a completely different task than doing this outside or somewhere your dog can see other events happening.
Just because he’s managed to stay in position for long stretches while you’ve been in a different room, doesn’t mean he’ll do the same thing if a squirrel runs by.
This training needs to be done slowly. Start by introducing a distraction, then rewarding your dog for staying in place. Work through this one slowly. If your dog breaks his stay three times in a row, start over.
All of them Together
Once you’ve gotten through all of this, then you can start putting all three of these elements together, adding in one at a time. I know this seems like a lot of work, but stay is one of the most important commands you can teach your dog. if you’re consistent with the training and remain patient, eventually your dog will remain in stay, no matter what’s going on around him.
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